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Marcus Smart was in the running for NBA Defensive Player of the Year before the world stopped spinning, now he’s piously helping defend against a global pandemic.
Two days after being officially deemed “Corona Free” after testing positive two weeks ago, the Celtics guard and fan favorite is donating his blood plasma to National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project to aid ongoing research about the coronavirus, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Corona Free as of two days ago. Cleared by Mass Dept of Health.
Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and prayers and I’m doing the same for everyone that’s been effected by this. Stay safe and stay together- apart!
Much love!— marcus smart (@smart_MS3) March 30, 2020
Michael Joyner, an anesthesiologist at the Mayo Clinic, said Tuesday that he believes the experimental treatment “can be disease-modifying and reduce duration and severity in some patients.” The therapy reportedly uses antibodies in blood from recovered patients to dilute the virus in infected patients.
ESPN reports that Smart is one of at least four recovered NBA players plan to follow Smart’s lead, which is excellent news for the Plasma Project doctors.
“These are big men with blood volumes, and as a result [they] have a lot of plasma volume,” Joyner said. “Frequently people who are physically trained also have an increase in their plasma volume from what you would expect from them just being regular-sized guys.”
Marcus Smart’s blood plasma is gonna save the f-ing planet https://t.co/bBckEsfebS
— Max Lederman (@Max_Lederman) April 1, 2020
If Marcus Smart’s donation actually leads to a cure for ‘rona, there’s not a single thing anyone will be able to say to me on this app
— Cousin Grizz (@AndrewDoxy) April 1, 2020
— Gene Takavic (@GeneTAKAVlC) April 1, 2020
DPOY. Book it.