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\"It was experimental, and we didn't know of any donors personally, so we are trying to come out and get donors,\" Zachary Fernandez told WABC.

Prior experience with respiratory viruses and limited data from China suggests that convalescent plasma has the potential to lessen the severity or shorten the length of illness caused by COVID-19, the FDA said.

Blood donation organizations like New York Blood Center says on their website that they have received several inquiries from concerned people about how to get convalescent plasma donations to their specific loved one.

\"PHOTO:
Lee Jin-man/AP
PHOTO: An employee holds antibody test cartridges of the ichroma COVID-19 Ab testing kit used in diagnosing the coronavirus on a production line of the Boditech Med Inc., in Chuncheon, South Korea, April 17, 2020.
>

\"At this time, we are building a public bank of CP (convalescent plasma) and there is not an option to make a directed donation (making a donation for a specific patient),\" according to the New York Blood Center.

Unlike giving blood where it takes up to 15 minutes to donate, a plasma donation is more of a time commitment.

After a blood is drawn from the arm, it \"takes a spin\" in a centrifuge to separate your plasma from other blood components. The plasma is collected in a separate bag and the remainder of your blood is returned to you. This cycle is repeated several times to generate the required volume of plasma,\" according to the New York Blood Center.

The Fernandez family hopes someone steps up to donate soon.

WABC's Tim Fleischer contributed to this report

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