500 Members of One Church Donate Blood Plasma for Coronavirus Research
500 members of Shincheonji Daegu Church, a branch church of South Korea-based Shincheonji Church of Jesus, are donating blood plasma in the hopes of assisting COVID-19 vaccine research.
From 13 July to 17 July 2020, these 500 Shincheonji members who have recovered from COVID-19 will donate their plasma at blood donations cars in front of Kyungpook National University Hospital. The cars were set up the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) in cooperation with the Red Cross.
Shincheonji Church of Jesus released the following letter regarding the plasma donations:
Greetings. This is Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
The Shincheonji Church of Jesus announced to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it would donate plasma to complete the development of Corona 19 vaccines and treatments, and held full-scale consultations in early June. It took time to find a way to expedite the large-scale plasma donation, but the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention informed us on July 9 that three Korean Red Cross plasma collection buses could be supported for 500 people.
A total of 500 people will participate in the plasma donation through the Korean National Red Cross vehicles deployed at the front gate of Kyungpook National University Hospital for five days from July 13 to 17, 2020.
In addition, the believers of the Daegu Church decided not to receive a small amount of transportation money provided to plasma donors as the nation suffered a major crisis with Covid-19.
I sincerely pray that the blood plasma donation of the believers of the Daegu Church in Shincheonji will serve as an opportunity to take a step further toward the end of the Covid-19 in Korea and around the world.
Until now, there have only been about 170 blood plasma from individuals nationwide, and clinical trials will begin this week. The donated plasma from these 500 Shincheonji members will be used to make blood treatment medicine after the clinical trials. Representatives of the church have expressed hope that these donations will assist in finding a cure to help all people suffering from COVID-19 as soon as possible.