Donate Blood At OneBlood And Find Out If You Have The COVID-19 Antibody

May 19, 2020

If you donate blood with OneBlood you will find out if you have the coronavirus antibody.

That’s because the non-profit OneBlood is testing all donations for the COVID-19 antibody.

The antibody test is authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and will indicate if the donor’s immune system has produced antibodies to the virus, regardless of whether they ever showed symptoms. Donors will be able to see their results approximately 48 hours after donating by logging into their donor portal.

“The testing brings many benefits. In addition to donors learning if they have the antibody, OneBlood will be identifying additional people who can be COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors”, said Susan Forbes, OneBlood’s senior vice president for of corporate communications and public relations.

Convalescent plasma donors have a special ability to help critically ill coronavirus patients. By transfusing plasma that is rich with coronavirus antibodies into a patient still fighting the virus it can help boost the patient’s immune system and potentially help them recover.

“OneBlood is working closely with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Scott Rivkees M.D., to provide de-identified data on the number of people testing positive and the geographical location.  This information will help in decision making for reopening the economy”, said Forbes.

OneBlood is one of the first blood centers to begin testing for the coronavirus antibody and plans to provide the antibody testing for the foreseeable future.

Due to social distancing measures that OneBlood has in place, all donors are required to make an appointment to donate.  Appointments can be made online at www.oneblood.org or by calling 1-888-9DONATE

Comments

One Response to “Donate Blood At OneBlood And Find Out If You Have The COVID-19 Antibody”

  1. Freedom on May 19th, 2020 6:52 pm

    I donated blood today at the OneBlood center on 9 Mile. They are so nice and professional. The online reservation was simple and the donation center was not crowded due to the reservations.