Biological Specialty Company Launches At-home Blood Donation Service for COVID-19 Patients Who Want to Help Develop New Drugs and Vaccines
BSC is collecting blood samples from sick and recovered COVID-19 patients to assist in developing COVID-19 therapies, vaccines and diagnostic biomarkers
COLMAR, Pa., April 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Biological Specialty Company (BSC) has launched an at-home blood donation service for COVID-19 positive patients. Blood donations are urgently required from patients who are sick with or have recovered from COVID-19 to help develop new therapies, vaccines and diagnostic biomarkers for the disease. BSC is a critical service supplying more than 30,000 pharma, biotech, diagnostic and government researchers with human blood products for scientific research.
"It is critically important that the scientific community has access to COVID-19 positive blood samples to advance medical discoveries. We have received hundreds of calls from researchers looking for these samples and most COVID-19 survivors want to do everything they can to help eradicate this disease," said Lori Ball, chief operating officer at BSC. "We have established a fleet of mobile blood donation units to enable patients to help get these vital COVID-19 positive blood samples into the hands of researchers who need them."
Patients who are sick with COVID-19 and quarantined anywhere in the US can now donate blood from the comfort of their home via a BSC mobile donation unit.
When patients contact BSC, they will be asked some qualifying questions to confirm their eligibility to participate. BSC is seeking blood donors who are over the age of 18 with COVID-19 positive test results confirmed by nasal swab or sera.
Patients' personal information will be kept confidential and only health-related data will accompany their blood sample. They will be asked to provide demographic information such as age, race, gender, medications taken, co-morbidities, and smoking status in addition to answering questions about their illness such as symptoms and date of onset.
Donating Blood in Quarantine
After a COVID-19 patient makes a blood donation appointment, a BSC phlebotomist, dressed in full personal protective equipment (PPE), will arrive at their home, explain the informed consent and collection process, and collect the blood sample. Then, they will send the sample to BSC's lab for processing and distribution.
Donating Blood Post Recovery
People who have recovered from COVID-19 and have had no symptoms for at least 28 days, and have had no close contact exposure to a person with confirmed COVID-19 for 28 days, can elect to either donate via the mobile service or make an appointment to visit a BSC blood donor center.
Potential donors can obtain additional information and schedule an appointment by calling 1-833-GO-4-CURE, visiting www.biospecialty.com or sending an email to [email protected].
By supporting the development of a vaccine or therapy for COVID-19, both sick and recovered patients can play an active role in the race to target a cure.
About Biological Specialty Company (BSC)
BSC, a BioIVT company, is a leading provider of human blood products and biological specimens to the research community. BSC specializes in the collection of whole blood, plasma, serum, white cells, red cells, and other biofluids from consented donors. Generally healthy, normal donors are screened according to AABB guidelines and undergo a complete battery of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required infectious disease state tests. For 40 years, specimens collected at BSC donor centers in Colmar, Allentown and Reading, PA, have supported the development of therapeutics and in vitro diagnostic assays. Our newest donor center is now open in Medford, MA, serving the Boston area.
BSC Contact: Courtney Noah, PhD, SVP, Marketing & Client Services, 516-483-1196
Media Contact: Lisa Osborne, Rana Healthcare Solutions, 206-992-5245, [email protected]
SOURCE Biological Specialty Company
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