Husband And Wife Save 68 Lives And Counting By Donating COVID-19 Plasma

Brian was already prone to sinus infections, so when he began getting ill they presumed that's all it was as he wasn't showing all the symptoms for COVID-19.

Dina's illness started with a fever, but doctors didn't believe she had COVID-19 either. She got tested for the flu and for strep throat, both coming back negative.

After previous tests yielded no answers, Dina was tested for coronavirus, this time coming back positive . Brian never got tested, it wasn't until weeks later as he was getting bloodwork done that it was discovered he'd already had and recovered from COVID-19.

Once she started feeling better and learned that this was an avenue she could take, Dina began donating her plasma, with Brian following her lead later on.

"We want to give back, I mean that's who we are," Brian said. "We were raised that way and to do work in the community."

Those who have COVID-19 begin to form antibodies shortly after contracting the virus. According to Dr. Mark Abdelmalek, a medical investigative reporter for ABC News, "[Antibodies are] tailor-made by the immune system to fight the novel coronavirus and are felt to be a key component of recovery."

This means any plasma donation given to a newly infected patient, or one with a lower antibody count, can aid greatly in their fight.

"Giving them plasma is really -- it's a lot easier than believe it or not, donating blood," She said. "They pull the plasma out of your blood and then they put your blood back in you. You don't feel it, you just feel a little coolness when it's going back in. So it's pretty simple [...]."

Thanks to their donations, Brian and Dina have already saved at least 68 lives.

"It's a critical time for everybody to be providing [plasma] because there are so many more people in the hospital right now that could use plasma donations," said Brian.

"We just really hope that people will realize that this is something that if they're a survivor, they just need to do it," Dina added. "It's so important and you're saving mankind. That's what's really important."

h/t: Good Morning America