After Surviving COVID-19, This Woman Is Mobilizing Other Survivors To Save Lives

Friday the 13th now holds a new meaning for Diana Berrent, who woke up that day in March with a 102-degree fever and the feeling like an “anvil” was lying on her chest. “It feels like a lifetime ago but it was only three weeks ago,” said Berrent, who lives in Nassau County, New York. “We don’t have time on our hands, people are dying, and if the answers to this virus lie in the bodies of survivors, we need to create a platform to efficiently match survivors to research institutes so they can get direct access to us and we can create an expediency to the process.” Thus, Survivor Corps, a Facebook group started by Berrent, was born. “I realized if I was going to be one of the first people to get diagnosed with COVID-19 in my area, in all likelihood, if I was lucky, I was also going to be one of the first survivors,” she said, adding, “And with that came a responsibility and an opportunity.” On March 30, Berrent visited Columbia University Irving Medical Center and became its first volunteer to be screened to donate antibodies that may help treat and save the lives of others. “There’s no reason why those people, once they test negative for the virus and positive for the antibodies, can’t be volunteering on the front lines without being a drain on protective gear,” she said.