CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — A Clarks Summit man says it is something he has to do: donate his plasma in the fight against COVID-19.
Ryan Fenton got COVID-19 in March. He spent weeks feverish and weak, isolated from his family.
"It was about two weeks of symptoms, and the last week was relentless, mainly fever, just on and off all day," he said.
Fenton has recovered and recently donated his plasma for the first time.
Medical experts say plasma from COVID survivors has antibodies that can help in their research and treatment of other patients.
"It was incredibly easy, one needle in one arm. It took about an hour for the actual donation, but you don't really feel anything really. It was super simple. They got four units out of me, which means four people."
Fenton calls it a simple process and is urging other survivors to do the same: donate what they can when they can. He can give plasma every eight days.
He is also hoping donated plasma can answer some big questions. Right now, researchers are trying to figure out if a person who had COVID-19 can be re-infected.
"It's just such a weird strain that they just don't know for sure, I guess."
Fenton said he feels like it's his duty to donate, and he'll be doing it as much as he can in the coming months.
"After recovering from this thing, it kind of resets your mind, and you really appreciate the things you have; you focus on a lot of the good, and you really want to give back."
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