QUOD is very pleased to collaborate with the Blood Donor Service to support two major research projects related to COVID-19.
First, QUOD is providing support for the Convalescent Plasma Trials, REMAP-CAP and RECOVERY. The trials will collect plasma samples from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to administer to patients suffering from serious symptoms in the hope that this will boost their production of antibodies. QUOD personnel are assisting with the preparation and distribution of plasma from recovered patients, as well as the acceptance, storage, and distribution of plasma from trial participants.
In addition, assistance from QUOD was essential in the effort to rapidly scale up validation of COVID-19 antibody tests. COVID negative plasma samples from the QUOD biobank were used to provide a ‘healthy patient’ control group to test for false positives. QUOD personnel have also been hard at work preparing additional plasma samples provided by the Blood Donor Service for testing. Initial results of this antibody testing are described in this pre-print.
The swift and efficient deployment of QUOD resources and personnel to support these efforts is a strong testimony to the strategic value of the research platform we have built together. We are glad to have a meaningful role in enabling the national response to the crisis.