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CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - A Coral Springs Police officer, who has since recovered from COVID-19, has donated his blood plasma to help COVID-19 patients, which includes a South Florida responder who is struggling with the virus.
Coral Springs Police Lt. Scott Myers donated his plasma on Thursday.
“The reality is I just wanted to help, and whether I’m a first responder or not, I felt it was my obligation to give back and maybe pay it forward, so to speak,” Myers said. “I was really trying to help people.”
Myers was hit with the coronavirus last month, and he said his symptoms started with a minor cough.
“A couple of days later, I woke up with a fever,” Myers said. “I was one of the first first responders to go down and get tested.”
That test turned out to be positive, and Myers’ symptoms worsened.
“It progressed, and it got really achy and exhausted,” Myers said. “I didn’t want to get out of bed for a couple of days. Then, it got better.”
After recovering from the virus, the lieutenant knew what he wanted to do: donate his antibody rich plasma to help someone else.
“COVID-19 convalescent plasma comes out of the blood supply and could actually be one of the few therapies that give these critically-ill patients relief,” Bud Scholl, the president and CEO of OneBlood, said.
City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was the first in Florida to donate his plasma after a bout with COVID-19.
“You infuse that serum, if you will, into that person who is in the hospital who’s very sick, and that person’s antibodies help fight the coronavirus in the sick person in the hospital,” Coral Springs EMS Medical Director Dr. Peter Antevy said. “If you’ve had COVID and you’ve recovered, you could be the next person to save a life.”
In Myers’ case, he knows a portion of his case will help a South Florida first responder. Myers hopes to hear good news from the first responder following his donation.
OneBlood is looking for plasma donors to help other COVID-19 patients.
Donors must have verification of a positive COVID-19 test, be symptom free for 14 days and have documentation of a negative test after recovering from the virus. Candidates can go to oneblood.org to schedule a donation.
One person’s plasma donation can generally help about three people, officials said.
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