Doctor asks recovered coronavirus patients to be tested for antibodies
A physician at Mount Sinai Hospital has issued an appeal online for anyone who has recently recovered from the coronavirus to volunteer to have their blood tested for high levels of virus-fighting antibodies.
“COVID Plasma Needed!!!! This is for NYC but hoping this will become available country wide over the next few days/weeks,” the doctor wrote in the frantic message on a Facebook group.
“If your antibody levels are high, we will work with you to see if you are both willing and qualified to donate plasma at a nearby blood donation center,” the doctor wrote.
“Patients recently recovered from COVID-19 have high levels of immunity in the form of antibodies in their blood that can be transfused into very sick COVID-19 patients in our hospitals,” the doctor wrote.
“This treatment is known as ‘human convalescent plasma’ and has been used in previous pandemics. We are ready to start treating patients later this week, but need your help.”
Well, they can't be short on donors. I was scheduled to donate (whole blood) yesterday but at the last minute they called and said I had to reschedule because they had too many appointments lined up and SOCIAL DISTANCING! That should not apply to recovered COVID-19 plasma donors, one hopes.
ReplyDelete