NBA in support of antibody blood tests for COVID-19 research: Reports

The 'NBA Together' initiative was previously reported to be urging members cleared from COVID-19 to donate their plasma for research. Current studies theorise that plasma of patients who have recovered from coronavirus could help combat the virus. The procedure is based on the idea that people who have beat the virus have developed antibodies in their blood plasma as a defence against the virus. Recent reports suggest that the NBA is now supporting the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Study.

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NBA tests players: Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Study supported by the NBA for antibody blood tests

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NBA will support Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Study about antibody blood tests

As per The Athletic, the league wants to understand the virus' prevalence among members of the organization and contribute to the efforts for developing a vaccination. On April 13, the Mayo Clinic announced that they would be making their Mayo Clinic COVID-19 study 'more widely available'. Mayo Clinic's director explained the process, stating that a positive serology result might suggest that the person is 'less likely to get infected or re-infected' as compared to people who do not have antibodies. However, they are also trying to learn about 'the level and duration of protective immunity', as one cannot be sure how long immunity may last. In a Q&A session, Dr Gregory Poland revealed that the antibodies will help doctors know more about patients 'experiencing a re-exposure to the disease'.

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NBA tests players: NBA urges Marcus Smart to give antibody blood tests for COVID-19 relief

On March 31, the NBA was reported to have contacted team physicians and asked players who have been cleared of the virus to donate their blood to the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project. An anesthesiologist at Mayo Clinic, Dr Michael Joyner, stated that big men with larger blood volumes have a big plasma volume. He added that physically trained people also tend to have an increase in their plasma volume. Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart, who has now recovered from COVID-19, was reported to be donating blood plasma. As per ESPN, MLB teams were also contributing to a similar study of around 10,000 people via Stanford University, USC and the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory.

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