Research:
COVID-19 Convalescent
Plasma Program

WHAT ROLE DOES BLOOD TYPE PLAY IN COVID-19 INFECTION? COULD SPECIALLY DEVELOPED ANTIBODIES IMPROVE COVID-19 OUTCOMES IN CANCER PATIENTS?

Home to the leading experts in blood science, Bloodworks Research Institute is joining in the fight to understand and defeat the virus that causes COVID-19. Partnering with infectious disease experts at University of Washington, our scientists are investigating the relationship between blood and COVID-19, unlocking the answers that may be the key to new therapies and vaccines against the virus.

ABO blood type is already a known risk factor for susceptibility to certain infections, including viruses in the same family as the novel coronavirus. Reports from China in early March, 2020 noted that people with blood type A were more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 – and die from it – than patients with other blood types. Cases around the world reveal similar trends.

Bloodworks’ Dr. Jill Johnsen wants to know why.

Using a sophisticated genetic tool for mapping an individual’s blood in great detail, she aims to detect the effects of blood type on COVID-19 severity and begin to get answers on why COVID-19 might hit some patients more severely than others.