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Let's Beat COVID-19 Together

Bikur Cholim has partnered with the prestigious Mayo Clinic and the NIH to offer the most advanced antibody testing to our community for the purpose of qualifying you as a convalescent plasma donor. This may also allow researchers to better understand the COVID-19 immune response and work towards a cure. There are no requirements to have had COVID-19 symptoms in order to be tested.

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Join fellow Yidden in this historic opportunity to make an unparalleled Kiddush Hashem by qualifying to donate your plasma and, potentially, save tens of thousands of lives by participating in this study and its community-wide COVID-19 Antibody Drive.

Choose your location

Detroit

Sun May 31

  • 11:00am-5:00pm
  • Southfield Pavilion
365 People Tested

Specialty Drive

  •  
  • Enter your access code below
  •  

Lakewood, NJ

Sun May 17

  •  
  • 10:00am-8:00pm
  • Lake Terrace
3,302 People Tested

West Hempstead

Mon May 18

  • 1:00pm-5:00pm
  • Young Israel of West Hempstead
180 People Tested

Five Towns /
Far Rockaway

Wed May 20

  • 1:00pm-7:00pm
  • Yeshiva Darchei Torah
784 People Tested

Los Angeles

Thur May 21

  •  
  • 9:00am-9:00pm
  • Bais Yaakov of Los Angeles
734 People Tested

New Haven, CT

Thur May 21

  • 3:30pm-6:30pm
  • YBDS
127 People Tested

Flatbush

Sun May 24

  • 10:00am-5:00pm
  • Talmud Torah of Flatbush
577 People Tested
  • 10:00am-5:00pm
  • Kingsway Jewish Center
594 People Tested

Catskill

Sun May 24

  • 10:00am-3:00pm
  • Catskills Hatzalah Garage
162 People Tested

partnering organizations

Previous Events

Detroit, MI

Sun May 10

  • 11:00am-5:00pm
  • YBY PreSchool / High School
406 People Tested

Lakewood, NJ

Wed April 29

  • NEW! Research Program
  • Lakewood Bikur Cholim
258 People Tested

Deal, NJ

Tue April 28

  • 10:00am-6:00pm
  • DSN Community Center
262 People Tested

Crown Heights

Tue April 28

  • 12:00pm-6:00pm
  • Oholei Torah
841 People Tested

Waterbury, CT

Tue April 28

  • 10:00am-2:00pm
  • Waterbury Bnai Shalom
Offline

New Haven, CT

Tue April 28

  • 12:00pm-4:00pm
  •  
Offline

Boro Park

Wed April 22

  • 9:00am-9:00pm
  • Ateres Golda Hall
1,551 People Tested

Flatbush

Wed April 22

  • 8:00am-4:00pm
  • Chaim Berlin High School
650 People Tested

Flatbush

Wed April 22

  • 8:00am-4:00pm
  • Sephardic Community Center
700 People Tested

Baltimore

11AM-3PM

  • Bais Yaakov Smith Ave Campus
Offline

Lakewood

April 19 & 22

  • Blue Claws Stadium
  •  
1,321 People Tested
 
 

Frequently Asked Questions

For questions, email plasma@lrbcol.org call or text 855-905-3020
Answer:The antibody drive was established for several reasons:
1) To identify potential plasma donors who can donate their antibodies to help those
suffering with COVID.
2) To provide our communities with advanced and accurate antibody results from the
Mayo Clinic.
3) To help local Rabbonim and doctors assess the level of COVID antibodies within
different communities so that the leaders who make decisions on reopening will have
accurate data to work with.
4) To allow for a Kiddush Hashem by collaborating with leading US labs, including the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), to study these antibodies and create better assays
(antibody tests), vaccines and potential pharmaceuticals which could help fight COVID.
Our community has been hit hard and now we are rising to the occasion by trying to
help this cause.
Answer: It does not matter whether you had (symptomatic) or did not have symptoms (asymptomatic) of COVID to enter this study and have your antibody level taken.
Any adult over age 18 can enter this study. You must be willing to fill out a short survey and give your consent to be in the study and have your blood taken.
Answer: Absolutely. You will get a secure email within several days of testing with your Mayo Clinic COVID-19 IgG antibody results. Results will include whether you are considered to have sufficient immunity and an actual number of how much antibody you have.
Answer: There is no charge for you to participate in this testing. Enrolling is completely voluntary on your part.
Answer: A group of physicians have put together a study to correlate degree of symptoms, if any, with your COVID antibody levels. This will be valuable to the scientific community and help gain insight into this disease and how one develops immunity. The study utilizes a short survey to determine your symptoms and possible treatments you underwent for COVID-19, if you had any. Additionally, we will be looking at those without symptoms to see if they developed any immunity based on their exposure within the community. There is no charge to participate in the study and you must enroll on a voluntary basis.
Answer: If you have a positive test result (antibodies are detected), you have likely been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 at some point in the recent past. It takes the body a few weeks after infection to develop IgG to a specific virus. Because COVID-19 is so new to the world it is impossible to predict exactly how protective these antibodies are or how long they are likely to last.
Answer: If you've had COVID-19 and recovered, your blood most likely has antibodies in it that are able to attack the COVID-19 virus. Plasma, which is the component of your blood that contains antibodies, can be used to treat COVID-19 patients and give them a better chance of fighting off the virus. Similar plasma donations have been successfully used to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients.
Answer: Yes. Blood and plasma donations are an exception to stay-at-home orders.
Answer: Plasma will be taken in the same fashion that blood is taken from a vein in your arm. It’s simple, fast, and painless.
Answer: In order to be tested, all of the following requirements must be met:
  • You had to have had real symptoms, like fever over 99°F. Slight symptoms like a cold or a headache are not enough.
  • You must be completely symptom-free for at least a week.
  • You must be willing to donate blood and possibly travel up to an hour to do so.
  • Note: Antibody levels will not be available. Eligible donors will be contacted with information on how to proceed.
Antibody testing results, at this time, do not definitively indicate your immune status and should not be used to change current recommended social distancing rules.
 
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