Blood donors help researchers figure out the duration of novel coronavirus antibodies

The American Red Cross has tested all donated blood for new coronavirus antibodies and will use that information to learn more about the prevalence of COVID-19. They also check back in to the donor to find out how long their antibody persists.

If someone has antibodies to the new coronavirus, it means they were at some point infected with the virus. Currently, the tests on the market aren’t perfect, but many people are interested in the test, including those who think they have COVID-19, but who couldn’t take the test when they were ill. I am.

One of the goals of the antibody testing initiative is to encourage more people to donate blood, says Susan Stramer, Vice President of Science at the Red Cross. Home orders have reduced the number of people donating more blood than usual over the past few months, Supply is low.. Since the antibody test started on June 15, the number of donations booked has increased by about 150%.

When someone donates blood to the Red Cross, they agree to allow their blood sample Used in research.. Thousands of people across the country donate blood every month, which gives organizations a large pool of blood samples to analyze. By testing all these samples for the new coronavirus antibody, tissues can also understand how the virus has spread.

“We collect 40% of our nation’s blood supply, so it’s easy to answer the question about the number of people who are antibody positive,” says Stramer. So far, according to the two-week data, about 1.2% of blood donors carry the novel coronavirus antibody.

The Red Cross will contact donors who have antibodies and ask if they are interested in participating in additional follow-ups to test how their antibody levels change over time. These antibodies probably help protect people from viral illness again, but more research is still needed. Researchers are not yet sure how much antibody to the virus actually stays in the body. A few Preliminary data In particular, it suggests that new coronavirus antibodies may persist for only a few months in people who were asymptomatic after infection.

The study will check in once a month to retest participants’ antibody levels. “We want to register as many people as we can, but if it exceeds 30%, I think it’s a success,” says Stramer.

Red Cross also participates National antibody research, With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study includes multiple blood donation groups and will check the proportion of the population with new coronavirus antibodies this fall again in 2021. As Director of Vitality Research Institute Said Science.. Each of these studies includes 50,000 blood samples.

The projects are similar but the scope is different. “While the CDC program focuses on changes over time, our time actually delves deep into the details of donor and antibody duration,” Stramer said.

For decades, blood donation centers have used thousands of freely available samples for scientific research. A study initiated through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute began a blood donation study in 1989 on concerns about the effects of HIV on transfusion safety. Since then, for blood donation Helped scientists better understand About diseases like Zika virus and West Nile virus.

Donated blood does not provide a complete snapshot of the population. Some groups are completely excluded from blood donation. Men who had sex with another man in the last three months were excluded, effectively excluding gay ascetic men from donations. The Red Cross also advertises antibody tests, so sick people may be more likely to volunteer as blood donors. This can distort the data you are collecting and can add weight to the person who has the antibody. The organization is investigating donors and asking why they decided to donate, so they have that information to accompany the study.

People also need to be perfectly healthy to donate blood, and COVID-19 prolongs the time lag between when people get sick and when they count in these types of studies. May occur.

Understanding how many of the currently healthy people have the new coronavirus antibody remains valuable, Stramer said. “This represents individuals who may not know they have been infected, or who have become infected and have no symptoms.”