Wyatt Law Firm, Carabin Shaw Partner to Help COVID-19 Patients

The two Texas law firms will together donate $100,000 to provide $50 gift cards for COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors.

San Antonio– (August 10, 2020) — San Antonio-area law firms Wyatt Law Firm, PLLC, and Carabin Shaw are partnering to assist the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center’s (STBTC) efforts to collect convalescent plasma for COVID-19 patients. The two firms will provide $50,000.00 each — $100,000.00 total — in gift cards to encourage South Texans who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate convalescent plasma. Donors will receive a $50.00 Visa gift card for each eligible donation.

Convalescent plasma contains antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 and may provide passive immunity to certain patients with severe forms of the illness. The plasma is used to treat patients with active infections, and it is one of the few treatments available for COVID-19.

The gift cards are supplied by the firms and are not funded by the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, a subsidiary of BioBridge Global. The gift cards will be distributed while supplies last.

STBTC is supplying hospitals with convalescent plasma and plans to stockpile plasma donations for any future surges in demand. The average plasma donation provides enough for three doses, which are transfused to patients in hopes of helping their immune systems fight off a COVID-19 infection.

“The fight isn’t over, so we need to continue to collect plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients,” said Paula Wyatt, Founding Partner of Wyatt Law Firm. “The Greater San Antonio community has done so much for us, and we want to do our part to make San Antonio strong and healthy.”

“We felt it was vital for us to encourage people to make a lifesaving plasma donation,” said Jamie Shaw, a partner at Carabin Shaw. “It’s critically important to our community, and we want to encourage others to step up and help.”

Representatives from Wyatt Law Firm and Carabin Shaw met with STBTC representatives and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg at the STBTC Donor Pavilion earlier today to announce the program and take questions from the media.

Nationally, blood centers collecting convalescent plasma are, by the end of August, looking to double the 100,000 doses given to patients so far. STBTC has provided more than 4,400 of those doses.

STBTC is the only organization in this area collecting convalescent plasma that can be transfused directly to patients with COVID-19. The center is taking donations by appointment only at the Donor Pavilion in San Antonio and its donor room in Victoria, Texas. Interested donors can learn more by visiting SouthTexasBlood.org or emailing COVID19@SouthTexasBlood.org. All donors must contact the center and be screened for COVID-19 antibody levels and symptoms before donating. Those who haven’t had Covid-19 can still help by donating blood to help address the current critical need.