U.S. Senator Bob Casey from Pennsylvania donated plasma recently at CSL Plasma’s Taylor, Pennsylvania, collection center.
In a local television news segment about his donation, Casey said he had symptoms of the virus in late March. At the time, he didn’t get tested because there weren’t enough tests. An antibody test later confirmed he had recovered from COVID-19. Donating his plasma is a way to give back, Casey said.
“I was fortunate,” he told PAhomepage.com. “The worst manifestation of COVID was a bad fever for a couple days. Other people have had tremendous suffering and whatever we can do to help, we want to do.”
CSL Behring is a founding member of the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance, which is collecting donated plasma to develop a potential treatment for the serious complications from the novel coronavirus. Plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 contains antibodies that can help fight the infection.
The alliance, a coalition of leading plasma companies, is working together to develop a potential “hyperimmune” treatment, which could be produced at scale. A clinical trial is expected in the next few months.
To learn more about donating plasma, visit the CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance or The Fight Is In Us campaign.
