May 19, 2020
Surgeon Luis Reyes, MD, FASMBS, FACS, had been treating patients with COVID-19 when he noticed symptoms similar to a mild flu or perhaps allergies. "It did not get any better. It caused severe joint pain, nightmares, fever, night sweats — a pain I never felt," he says.
Dr. Reyes isolated himself at home for the duration. He said being sick, alone and fearful of infecting others was a terrible feeling.
Dr. Reyes is now back at work and, in what may prove a silver lining to the frightening episode, he is taking part in a clinical trial for a potential therapy at South Texas Health System McAllen. He is donating his blood plasma, which contains antibodies that could possibly help severely ill COVID-19 patients.
If you have tested positive for COVID-19 and are fully recovered, your plasma may be able to help those who are sick. Call the hospital lab at 956-632-4258 for more information.