Lawmaker donates plasma after recovery

Rep. Reginald Murdock, the first of three lawmakers in Arkansas to test positive for the coronavirus, donated his plasma Wednesday after saying that he has made a full recovery.

The 53-year-old Democrat from Marianna announced April 1 that he learned, after being tested by his doctor, that he had the virus. Murdock said Wednesday that he experienced only mild symptoms, including a low fever, and he retested negative about two weeks ago.

Murdock then became eligible to donate his plasma to aid others now sick with covid-19, the illness caused by the virus. He did so Wednesday at the Arkansas Blood Institute, in a procedure that he said took about 40 minutes.

Plasma donations from recovered patients can provide antibodies that attack the virus in others, according to the Red Cross. The organization’s website states that the treatment is being evaluated on patients with serious or life-threatening illness caused by the coronavirus.

“They said they need a lot of it now, obviously, with the covid situation,” Murdock said.

The two other lawmakers who tested positive for the virus are Rep. Vivian Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, and Rep. Les Warren, R-Hot Springs.

Flowers, 50, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Wednesday that she recently tested positive for the virus for third time, despite not having any symptoms since early April. Her recent test, after she thought she had recovered, has made Flowers concerned about the number of asymptomatic carriers in the state even as Gov. Asa Hutchinson and health officials announced plans to begin allowing some businesses to reopen in early May.

Warren, 61, the third lawmaker to test positive, said Wednesday he’s recovered after losing 10 pounds in what he called “a two-week ordeal” caused by the virus.

Warren says he plans to donate plasma as soon as next week after being asked to do so by the Health Department.