Eastern Jackson County Community Blood Drive

The Community Blood Center is hosting a blood drive, jointly sponsored by the Independence Chamber of Commerce and Community Services League. All blood donations will be tested for antibodies for COVID-19. Book your appointment now at savealifenow.org/group and enter the code EG9F.

For additional details, contact Dawn Eblen at 816 352-2342 or deblen@cbckc.org. If you have medical eligibility questions, please call 1.800.688.0900.

ANTIBODY TESTING FAQ's
 
Community Blood Center (CBC) will be testing donors who make a blood donation for antibodies to COVID-19 at the Eastern Jackson County Blood Drive on Monday, January 25^th from 10am to 6pm. As a blood donor, if an antibody test is positive, the plasma component from their blood donation may be processed into convalescent plasma, which is currently used to help hospitalized COVID-19 patients recover.
 
What is an Antibody Test?

• An antibody test screens for antibodies in your blood, which are formed when fighting an infection, like COVID-19. An antibody test assesses whether your immune system has responded to the infection, not if the virus is currently present.
• The COVID-19 antibody test is authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and may indicate if the donor?s immune system has produced antibodies to the coronavirus, regardless of whether they developed symptoms. Donors who test positive for COVID-19 antibodies may have the unique opportunity to help patients fighting the disease.
• Note: CBC is not testing donors to diagnose illness (referred to as a diagnostic test) and a positive antibody test result does not confirm infection or immunity; a positive antibody test indicates potential prior exposure to the virus.

• If you have antibodies, it means you've been exposed to the virus and your immune system has made antibodies against it. Antibody tests are different from the test doctors use to check for the virus itself.  

• We draw an extra test tube of blood and send it for testing.

• A letter with antibody test results will be mailed to donors within two weeks of their donations.
• The letter will indicate whether-or-not antibodies are present in their blood; it will not indicate titer level.

• Other blood centers have been offering antibody testing at various times throughout the pandemic. However, due to different testing platforms and methods, the results were often confusing to individuals.
• Due to the improvements in testing methods and the growing need for Convalescent Plasma (CCP) in the United States, CBC has the opportunity to offer a limited number ofCOVID-19 antibody tests to the public in an effort to identify individuals who may be eligible to donate CCP.