Page 8 - Year End Report

Covid 19

ANTIBODY-TESTING
AND PLASMA PROJECT

During the roller-coaster experi- coming and of spotty accu-
ence of COVID, this is a story racy when we were informed
that leaves us breathless. At that the famed Mayo Clinic of
the end of the first month of Rochester MN was interested in
lockdown it became clear that finding research partners who they sent us thousands of test analysis which resulted in 2,000
antibodies would provide a could provide a steady stream kits which we immediately put to plasma donations and 15,000
measure of immunity for those of antibody tests that could be use by running antibody testing units of plasma as part of the
who had contracted the illness. used to identify those who had in Lakewood and in frum com- largest research project of its
A cottage industry of test- immunity and whose blood munities around the country. kind in the world. We were fortu-
providers of varying degrees of plasma could be extracted to This involved intense logistical nate enough to have been in the
reliability sprang up to service see if it is ef ective as treatment. coordination between the Mayo right place in the right time and
the needs of those who wanted We grabbed the opportunity and Clinic, the NIH, our extended to have been able to facilitate
testing. Results were long in made contact with them and team and many local organiza- this huge kiddush Hashem.
tions and individuals who were
successful in run-
ning 20 drives in
little over a month “You guys continue
collecting, bar- to amaze me”
coding, centrifug-
ing and sending Dr. Amy Ennis, Technology Laboratory
close to 20,000 Supervisor, Mayo Clinic
blood samples for

14 | LEV ROCHEL BIKUR CHOLIM OF LAKEWOOD LEV ROCHEL BIKUR CHOLIM OF LAKEWOOD | 15