Army Corps Civilian Donates Plasma to Help Fellow Oklahomans

 Oct. 13, 2020 | BY HOLLIE D. JAMES

After realizing he had lost his sense of taste and smell, Mike Kerr immediately isolated himself. Kerr, the safety manager for the Tulsa, Oklahoma, district of the Army Corps of Engineers, then got tested for COVID-19.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is anecdotal evidence that loss of smell and taste were reported by people with COVID-19. Patients also reported fever and chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.

I'm glad that, through our suffering, we helped someone who was suffering worse."

Mike Kerr, safety manager, Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District

"Upon initial symptoms, I self-isolated from my family members and we cleaned everything in the house — over and over again," Kerr said.

"Knowing that my test results could take a couple of days, I immediately notified friends and co-workers, who were in close contact with me, that I was being tested for the virus."

I didn't know anyone who had the virus before me, so I really didn't know what to expect, Kerr stated.

"The scariest part was getting it early and the unknown of what to expect," Kerr said. "There was not a lot of information in the U.S., and all we really heard was about how rapidly the virus was spreading and the deaths in places like the Seattle area."

After recovering, Kerr realized that he could help other people and donated 650 ml of convalescent plasma.

"I felt as though I had a responsibility to give plasma to help other Oklahomans in their recovery. I was approached by a local hospital, and they started the process with Oklahoma Blood Institute," Kerr said.

According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health website, to date, Oklahoma has identified 94,352 cases across the state with 13,066 active cases, 80,211 people recovered and 1,075 cases resulting in death.

Kerr was notified by letter that all of his plasma had gone to recipients suffering from the virus.

"I'm glad that, through our suffering, we helped someone who was suffering worse," Kerr said.

(Hollie D. James is assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).