As the COVID19 pandemic rages on, medical professionals have found a machine that analyzes blood samples in 24 hours, rather than the usual two-week time frame.
There are 1,832 British Columbians who have recovered from COVID19, including 32-year-old Zee Rahiman, who describes his experience with Coronavirus.
“I was coughing and vomiting and had a fever. When the doctors at Vancouver General Hospital put me on a ventilator to breathe, I thought: I might not make it,” said Rahiman.
Not only did Rahiman make it, he’s one of 65 people enrolled in a clinical study that examines the immune-system response to COVID19.
A small team, led by Intensive Care Physician Dr. Mypinder Sekhon and Cheryl Wellington, a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UBC are retrieving and processing blood samples from critically ill COVID19 patients in two Lower Mainland hospitals (Vancouver General and Surrey Memorial Hospital).
Rahiman said, although you may think you’re invincible, you’re not.
“Just because you’re young and healthy doesn’t mean you can’t get COVID19. To the research and clinical teams: Thank you for giving me a second chance,” said Rahiman.
The UBC Hospital Foundation and VGH are funding part of the research.
