ORLANDO, Fla. – With the surge of coronavirus cases in Florida comes the need for a greater demand of convalescent plasma donors. His wife said he had been on life support and no other treatments seemed to have work until he received convalescent plasma. One Blood also does antibody testing when you donate blood. If your result is positive, you could be a potential convalescent plasma donor. To register to become a convalescent plasma donor, visit oneblood.org.

Kevin Rathel, 52, was wheeled out of Orlando Regional Medical Center in April where he had spent weeks in the hospital, fighting COVID-19 on life support. He was the first in the region to receive convalescent plasma and credits that treatment for his survival. Kevin Rathel said he is still feeling the effects of coronavirus, undergoing physical therapy several times a week. We’re hoping for some normality this Christmas as we stay home and just enjoy our family,” Kevin Rathel said. The Rathel family continues to encourage people who have had coronavirus and have the antibodies to donate their convalescent plasma.

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Ron DeSantis hosted in Orlando Monday afternoon to push for convalescent plasma donations to help COVID-19 patients got off to a rocky start as protesters interrupted just minutes into his remarks. Despite the demonstration, DeSantis carried on about how convalescent plasma has proven to be a promising treatment for COVID-19 patients. OneBlood Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rita Reik said that there is no database of recovered COVID-19 patients so the organization can only rely on self-reporting. According to Scholl, plasma can be donated every 28 days so he hopes residents will make it a regular habit. For more information on how to donate convalescent plasma, click here.