Actor Tom Hanks donates blood for Coronavirus research

After coming out with news of being infected with the coronavirus, Tom Hanks has made it official that his blood will be used as a sample in the fight against the pandemic.

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were among the first celebrity couples to come forward with news about being infected by this deadly virus. After a successful recovery, the couple has come forward to donate blood and plasma samples for research. This is according to the New York Post’s Page Six.

What the actor had to say

Tom Hanks, in an interview with NPR’S live podcast, has said that he and his wife were eager to help out the medical community to study their antibodies and find a possible vaccine. He went onto say that there is a lot of confusion and anxiety regarding what it is like to suffer and recover from the virus. He and his wife both were shocked when they were first diagnosed with the disease.

The decision was reached after Hanks and Wilson learned they had vital antibodies following their successful recovery from this deadly virus which has already killed over 200,000 people worldwide. They had contracted the virus while in Australia where Hanks was to start shooting for an untitled Elvis Presley movie. Baz Lurhmann, the director, was also one of the crew to test positive. However, there are no reports of anyone else in the crew who has tested positive till now.

The director’s experience about the virus

Baz Lurhmann has said that he and the entire crew were shocked to hear about Hanks and Wilson testing positive with the virus. His main concern was the safety of his crew who were involved in the production of the untitled film. He recalls that with the news of Tom Hanks and Rota Wilson testing positive, it became sort of advertisement that even celebrities are not invincible. It helped create more sensitivity and awareness regarding the spread of the virus. It helped to draw the attention of the whole world on the seriousness of the situation. Lurhmann has said that he is in close contact with the Australian authorities to determine the right time and scenario to resume the shooting in Australia.

This news has come at a point when the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo has made a statement that New York has become the epicentre of the deadly virus in the United States of America. He has said that they are increasing the testing of blood and antibodies of doctors, police officers, nurses to determine the rate of the virus spreading and a probable vaccine. Local pharmacies have been instructed to collect samples for conducting diagnosis.

Anthony Fauci, who is one of the top experts on diseases in the US, has said that testing is essential in getting back to normal. It will help to identify potential carriers, thus help in successfully isolating them and also help in contact tracing to determine possible further patients.