“We want to give back, I mean that’s who we are,” Brian Murphy said
By Ally Mauch December 12, 2020 02:00 PM • People
After contracting the novel coronavirus in March, Brian and Dina Murphy have been determined to give back.
The couple from San Antonio, Texas, has donated plasma to 68 people, helping others recover from the virus. Dina, 60, began donating in April, as soon as she started feeling better, and Brian, 59, followed suit in June.
“I felt that really, God really saved me and to be a survivor,” Dina, 60, told Good Morning America. “I felt that this is really what he wants me to do — to help others.”
“We want to give back, I mean that’s who we are,” Brian added. “We were raised that way and to do work in the community.”
Though there is some evidence to the contrary, the FDA has concluded that convalescent plasma — the yellow, liquid part of blood that contains antibodies in those who have recovered from COVID-19 — can be effective in treating the virus.
“Giving them plasma is really — it’s a lot easier than believe it or not, donating blood,” Dina shared. “They pull the plasma out of your blood and then they put your blood back in you. You don’t feel it, you just feel a little coolness when it’s going back in. So it’s pretty simple and it takes a little bit more time.”
The couple urged others who were diagnosed with the coronavirus to consider donating plasma as well, particularly amid the current spike in cases nationwide.
“It’s a critical time for everybody to be providing [plasma] because there are so many more people in the hospital right now that could use plasma donations,” Brian told GMA.
“We just really hope that people will realize that this is something that if they’re a survivor, they just need to do it,” added Dina. “It’s so important and you’re saving mankind. That’s what’s really important.”
As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.
