After surviving COVID-19, couple donates plasma for research
EVERETT — Donating plasma isn’t the ideal date for most couples, but Paul and Paula Perez have turned their weekly appointments at PlasmaLab International into just that. They sit in lounge chairs next to each other, talk, enjoy refreshments and race to see who reaches their donation total first.
The Perezes, both 54 of Edmonds, carry an increasingly valuable resource: COVID-19 antibodies.
“There is a gap in this research and finding the materials from donors that recovered from COVID-19,” said Safet Ibisevic, COO of PlasmaLab International, a collection center for antibody research.
Blood plasma from survivors of the coronavirus is pivotal as medical professionals test for ways to treat and prevent the disease that has killed more than 120,000 people nationwide and 160 in Snohomish County.
Paul became ill after the couple returned from a vacation to Washington D.C. at the beginning of March and Paula fell sick soon after.
“I felt like I got hit by a truck,” Paul said. For two weeks, they endured body aches, fevers and flu-like symptoms, but avoided any of the respiratory conditions that make COVID-19 deadly.
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