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Scientific study in Costa Rica by the covid-19 1:15
(CNN) - A California man who was diagnosed with coronavirus and recovered recovered his plasma to help others fight the life-threatening virus.
On March 6, Jason Garcia noted that he had a mild cough and some congestion.
READ: FDA Accelerates Use of Coronavirus Blood Plasma Treatment
The 36-year-old aerospace engineer from Escondido, California, did not give it much thought. But later, during a work trip, he noticed that a headache had begun to accompany his cough. For a day, he also developed fever and body aches that quickly came and went. Then he began to experience difficulty breathing.
Jason Garcia donated his plasma to help others after recovering from the coronavirus.
Garcia called his doctor and, based on his symptoms, they told him to go to the hospital and get a coronavirus test.
The test is positive
He was sent home and received a call on March 14 informing him that he had tested positive.
"They said to keep him isolated," said Garcia. "That 's what I did."
He spent nearly 10 days indoors, confined to his office or his guest room, away from his wife, an active duty Navy member, and their 11-month-old daughter.
She began to feel better and on March 18, she said, she considered herself "symptom free."
He received a letter from San Diego County saying it was already safe for him to come out of isolation and rejoin the world on March 23.
Garcia said that although the protocol for getting out of isolation was 72 hours without symptoms, he wanted to be very careful "I decided to do five days just to be safe," he said.
This was the Jason Garcia isolation site at his home.
Victory over the virus
To celebrate his recovery, he informed his friends through social networks that he had been infected with coronavirus and that he was better.
Garcia said he wrote: "I declare victory over this deadly virus. I beat covid-19 ”.
Around the same time, health officials at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County, California also turned to social media to say they were looking for someone who had been diagnosed with coronavirus and had recovered to help with treatment. Experimental to potentially save the life of another coronavirus patient.
A friend who saw the two posts on social media contacted and the hospital called Garcia just days after his quarantine ended, he said.
A donation that will potentially save lives
Jason García and his family.
They asked for a plasma donation for a coronavirus patient who was in serious condition and was not responding to other treatments, Garcia said.
He said yes. "This can become an opportunity to save the life of someone who cannot fight this disease," said Garcia.
The plasma donation will allow the coronavirus patient to receive antibodies from Garcia, a recovered patient, to help fight the disease, Wendy Escobedo, director of renal services at St. Joseph Hospital, said in a video provided by the hospital.
On April 1, García donated his plasma for experimental transfer to three patients.
By Sunday, he said, doctors told him that all of his plasma had been donated. The patient in the worst condition has since improved, Garcia said, according to doctors.
The patient was stripped of some medications, is healthier in terms of oxygenation and is progressively improving day by day, a hospital spokesperson told CNN in an email Sunday night.
"When I was diagnosed, a feeling of fear and fear, the fact that it was positive," explained Garcia. "This thing possibly ended up saving someone's life."
Although Garcia does not know how he became infected with the virus, he is happy to be able to contribute to treatment until the vaccine is ready.
"If this works, there will be a great opportunity for people to save a lot of anguish for others and to fight for their lives."
CNN's Paul Vercammen contributed to this report.
Plasma