Blood donations providing antibody answers
This graphic shows how antibodies attach themselves to coronaviruses to neutralize their effect on a person. Antibodies can prove if someone was infected by a coronavirus or has come into contact with one. Folks can be tested for antibodies by donating blood.
Courtesy image
What if there was a way for you to help your community, while also gaining some valuable personal medical knowledge at no cost to you?
One of the more popular discussions happening in the world today is surrounding the COVID-19 antibody test and how folks can see if they have been exposed to the novel coronavirus.
The simple answer: donate blood.
In June, Vitalant began offering COVID-19 antibody testing for anyone that gave blood, including the 30 people who donated at the June blood drive at the Kellogg Elks.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, antibody tests check your blood by looking for antibodies, which may tell you if you had a past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
Antibodies are proteins that help fight off infections and can provide protection against getting that disease again (immunity).
Antibodies are disease specific.
For example, measles antibodies will protect you from getting measles if you are exposed to it again, but they won’t protect you from getting mumps if you are exposed to mumps.
Vitalant’s North Idaho Territory Manager Rob Balison is hoping that having access to the antibody test will continue to encourage folks to come out and donate vitally needed blood.
“Since the end of March, we’ve had to cancel a lot of blood drives due to social distancing on buses, and we’ve been relying on community blood drives that have inside setups, like the one in Kellogg at the Elks, to sustain our blood supply at maintainable levels,” Balison said. “The testing has helped increase the turnouts at most drives. All results are confidential and cannot be released to the public in accordance with HIPAA regulations. It does however, let the donor know whether they have been exposed to COVID-19.”
The antibody testing program will continue running through the summer months, and everyone who donates at the next community blood drive will be tested as well.
COVID-19 may affect the respiratory systems of the people infected, but one in seven hospital patients still require blood from a donor — which requires a steady amount of donors that is growing less and less in the current climate.
The next Vitalant Community Blood Drive in Kellogg will be on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Kellogg Elks.
Appointments are encouraged and can be made by calling 1-877-258-4825 and following the prompts.