ECU, Vidant conducting COVID-19 antibody clinical procedure

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also…

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)

by: Dalisa Robles

Posted: May 13, 2020 / 02:48 PM EDT

Updated: May 13, 2020 / 02:48 PM EDT

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Physicians from East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine and Vidant Health are currently performing a clinical procedure that uses antibodies from people who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat patients suffering from the novel coronavirus.

On April 23, a COVID-19 patient at Vidant Medical Center was one of the first in North Carolina to receive antibody serum from a plasma donor who previously had either a documented case or suspected case of COVID-19.

Nearly 20 local patients have since received serum donations, with some showing encouraging results.

This Vidant Health and ECU partnership is part of a larger collaborative clinical investigation effort with the Mayo Clinic and major clinics nationwide that already has more than 16,000 patients involved in the study.