The American Red Cross is now testing all blood, platelet and plasma donations for COVID-19 antibodies.
The test does not tell donors whether they have actually had COVID-19 or are safe from infection.
"What this is going to tell our generous donors is that they have — their immune system has developed antibodies to the COVID-19 infection. whether they saw symptoms or not," said Red Cross spokeswoman Jan Hale.
Red Cross antibody tests will be done at a national lab, and donors will be notified of their results online or through an app.
"You know, our mission is to help people. We fell like right now, people want to know more information, as much information as they can get. And this just mey be more good information to have," Hale said.
Oklahoma Blood Institute announced earlier this month it would start offering free COVID-19 antibody testing to donors and contact those who test positive about donating for therapeutic purposes.
The Red Cross needs more donors to keep up with increasing hospital demand for blood. Appointments can be made by visiting redcrossblood.org.
