ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis pediatrician who has recovered from COVID-19 donated plasma to help patients currently fighting the virus.
Dr. Martin Schmidt, with SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, gave plasma on Tuesday at Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center in Earth City.
Schmidt’s donation will be used as a convalescent plasma treatment for patients, according to a spokesperson for the center.
Schmidt talked about the symptoms he experienced after getting the virus.
"My main symptoms were fatigue, sleeping about 16 hours a day, and a bad cough, with a lot of productive cough," he said. "But never any shortness of breath, a mild fever and a lot of aches and I definitely lost my sense of smell for almost six weeks."
He said when he found out he tested positive for the virus, he knew he would eventually donate plasma to help others.
"As soon as I was diagnosed, I knew that I eventually wanted to donate my plasma. I feel very fortunate that I had a mild case of COVID-19, but there’s a lot of people out there suffering with much more severe cases," he said. "If I can help some of them, I’m more than happy to do that. The process is very easy. I had no problem with it and you can help a lot of other people."
The center is accepting referrals for those who have tested positive for the virus and have recovered who would like to learn about giving plasma.
For more information, click here or call (833) 610-1025.
Several others have donated plasma after recovering from COVID-19 including St. Louis Blues broadcaster John Kelly.
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