NY Scientists Hope Coronavirus Survivors' Blood Is Treatment Key

MANHATTAN, NY — One of New York City's largest blood banks has started to collect plasma samples containing coronavirus antibodies from patients who have recovered from the deadly virus, the blood bank announced this week.

New York Blood Center, which operates locations in Midtown and one on the Upper East Side, is one of the first New York City institutions to begin collecting plasma samples from recovered coronavirus patients, its directors said in a statement. The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of plasma samples containing coronavirus antibodies as a therapy for patients suffering from the disease.

"We’re proud to partner with leading medical institutions from New York and beyond in developing this potential treatment," Beth H. Shaz, chief medical and scientific officer at New York Blood Center, said in a statement. "If this treatment proves to be effective, we are prepared to quickly scale our process and activate our network to serve hospitals nationwide."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke this week about using coronavirus antibodies to both treat current virus cases and identify healthcare workers who may have developed an immunity to the virus and may return to work. Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published a study stating that they developed a test to screen for coronavirus antibodies that will indicate whether a person has contracted and developed an immunity to the disease.

New York Blood Center will process the plasma samples it collects for infusion and maintain a bank of the samples to treat patients with life-threatening coronavirus cases, the blood bank's officials said.