Doctors in Stamford are hoping that hinging on donor blood plasma from people who fought coronavirus and are paying it forward will help current patients.

Several COVID-19 patients in Stamford have been transfused with the antibody-rich blood plasma of patients who've recovered.

"Your ammunition that was used to kill the COVID-19 in you can now be shared by somebody else in your community and help them fight COVID-19 as well,” says Dr. Paul Sachs, Stamford Health.

Dr. Sachs says plasma is not a sure thing, but out of all the treatments so far, he says this one seems to help the most.

He says so far 26 patients have been treated at Stamford Hospital with plasma. Of those, eight have come off ventilators and two have been well enough to go home.

"We're very encouraged by the study,”says Dr. Sachs.“We have a long list of patients and we're just waiting for plasma and part of the problem with the plasma is we look to them to be blood type matched.”

Red Cross officials say to donate blood plasma as part of this study, patients must have a record of their negative test once they’ve been cleared.

Kelly Isenor, of the Red Cross, says fortunately donor blood plasma is making its way to more and more ICU patients.

“A doctor he was on a ventilator, it was a very serious case, he received a convalescent plasma transfusion, within a day he was starting to be weaned off the ventilator, he's now off it fully and is making a recovery,”says Isenor “So any place you can get those little moments of hope, you know, it's just it's so energizing."