On Thursday morning Donnie Clarke became the first man to donate his convalescent plasma in Nova Scotia and the second person in Atlantic Canada.
He is a part of a nation-wide clinical trial testing out the use of convalescent plasma to treat patients infected with COVID-19.
Convalescent plasma is plasma retrieved from donors who have previously recovered from a virus, in this case COVID-19. A person develops antibodies as their body fights the virus.
Those antibodies remain in their plasma after they recover from the virus, helping to shield them from future infections. The trial, CONCOR, is conducted in partnership with Canadian Blood Services and 50 participating hospitals throughout the country. [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter