SAN FRANCISCO—On Monday, June 1, Vitalant, a national nonprofit blood bank that supplies blood for hospitals in the Bay Area and beyond, announced that it will start testing its blood donations for coronavirus antibodies for the rest of the summer.

Vitalant is one of the first national blood donation organizations to begin testing all donated blood samples for coronavirus antibodies. The antibody test is a new addition to a panel of other tests that Vitalant will continue to conduct on all blood donations.

The additional antibody test is free to all blood donors due to a subsidy from the Blood Center Foundation of the Inland Northwest and the Bonfils Blood Center Donor Advised Fund.

Vitalant clarified that the antibody testing does not necessarily determine COVID-19 immunity nor do antibodies automatically neutralize coronavirus. It also does not tell someone for certain whether or not they currently have COVID-19.

Rather, if a donor is identified as having coronavirus antibodies in their blood, it makes that person eligible to donate plasma that can be used to help COVID-19 patients.

For some time, the organization has been collecting plasma samples from people who had and recovered from COVID-19 in order to harvest their antibodies to treat those currently battling the virus. However, this new test will determine the existence of antibodies even if the donor was asymptomatic.

Vitalant has nearly 125 donation centers nationwide, including one on Bush Street in Downtown San Francisco, as well as on Masonic Avenue. The organization recommends that anyone interested in giving blood make an appointment here or call 877-258-4825 prior to their donation.