Just a week ago, the lab was used to look for autoantibodies in various disease contexts. Now the focus has shifted completely, and quickly it has gone:
- The experiments we do today can have an impact on health care tomorrow, says Peter Nilsson, professor at KTH and active at SciLifeLAb.
What is happening at the laboratory right now is developing a method for finding antibodies to the coronavirus in blood, and thus getting answers as to whether the person has had the virus and is probably immune. The hope is that the test will soon be approved by the ethical review board and can start to be used on a large scale to test staff within the healthcare system.
Thousands of tests- Then you get the answer to the question if you have already been ill and whether you can go and work or not.
Peter Nilsson expects to be able to run 7,000 tests in April and another 14,000 tests in May. In addition, blood plasma from blood donors that have antibodies to the coronavirus will hopefully be able to help those who become severely ill in covid-19.
- Hopefully they can get a boost in their immune system.