If you’ve recovered from coronavirus, you can be a part of stopping the epidemic.
Plasma Services Group based in Huntingdon Valley is collecting blood samples from individuals fully recovered from the virus to help create diagnostic test kits for others with the virus, and contribute to antibody research.
PSG, which ships blood samples to countries all around the world, wants to focus on its neighbors in Northeast Philadelphia and the rest of the city, which is projected to be the next hotspot for the virus by health officials.
“The faster the kits are developed and the more we know, the more lives are saved,” said PSG president Nichelle Porto.
Phlebotomists will travel to donors’ homes to draw blood if the donor does not want to travel. Per CDC regulations only patients who have gone seven days without having symptoms will be selected to protect everyone involved.
In a worldwide pandemic like this, collecting blood is vital to understanding how the virus and antibodies work. Researchers can answer questions such as how long it takes for the immune system to make antibodies that help fight the virus, what level of antibodies are needed for a recovered person to safely go back into the public and how long the immune system will continue to make antibodies that protect a person against the virus.
Blood donors will be funded for their efforts, paying $75 for a sample blood draw and, if qualified to donate plasma, $200 per blood plasma donation.
At Wednesday’s White House Task Force news conference, Vice President Mike Pence issued an order directly to Philadelphia.
“Our message to the people of the Philadelphia area is now more than ever, practice the social distancing so that Philadelphia … (does) not have to endure what other communities before them have had to endure,” he said.
With recruitment starting last week, PSG has already sent samples out all over the world, including France and Germany and states in the U.S. They want to put a special focus on collecting tests from Philadelphia.
“We want to give a chance for the people in the Philadelphia area to shine,” Porto said.
More information can be found at PSGDonors.com and the donor form can be found at PSGDonors.com/donor-form. Or, contact donor liaison Mike Delahanty at 215-355-1288, Ext. 306 or MDelahanty@PlasmaServicesGroup.com.
