Eryn Morris, a care coordinator at East Alabama Medical Center, became LifeSouth Blood Center’s first recovered COVID-19 plasma donor in Alabama. She donated her plasma after recovering from COVID-19 complications. She one of the first COVID-19 patients in Chambers County.
Morris quarantined herself in her home for 17 days after testing positive for COVID-19 on March 20.
“I had a lot of time at home to think about the patients in the hospital who were so sick with COVID-19,” Morris said. “My body was strong enough to fight off COVID, but somebody else may not be able to and could benefit from the antibodies in my plasma.”
Morris’ plasma contains antibodies that may be able to help lessen the severity of COVID-19 cases in hospitalized patients.
“[Morris] called us way before we even began collaborating with LifeSouth,” said Brooke Bailey, EAMC infection prevention director. “It’s a privilege to know we have her and others at EAMC who are willing to give back during this time to help sicker patients recover from COVID.”
During her plasma donation, Morris remembered her sister, Yvonne, who died in April six year ago from a cerebral hemorrhage. Yvonne was 42 at the time of her death and was an organ donor. Morris brought her sister’s picture with her to her plasma donation as inspiration for her life-saving donation.
Plasma, much like blood, is type-specific, so Morris’ A-positive plasma can only be matched with an A-positive patient. Plasma processing takes about 24 hours, so her plasma donation could be ready on Friday night.
Eligible donors should register here. For questions regarding donation, email LifeSouth at medicaloffice@lifesouth.org or call (888) 795-2707.
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