Nina Pham, the Texas nurse who tested positive for Ebola on Sunday, has received a blood transfusion from Dr. Kent Brantly, who beat the virus in August.
According to The New York Times, Pham, 26, is currently undergoing treatment at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, the same hospital where she contracted the virus from her now-deceased patient, Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national who had traveled to the US to visit family.
After discovering that their blood types matched, Brantly volunteered to donate blood to Pham, and the infusion was administered on Monday. Doctors hope any antibodies Brantly produced to overcome the deadly virus will help kick start the immune response of the young nurse.
Pham's friend Jennifer Joseph, who worked with Pham at the hospital, told reporters that, "She’s hopeful and just resting." Pham is focused on "Not letting the media and all this overwhelm her. She’s just having some time to herself, to be able to read and relax," said Joseph.
Like her blood donor Dr. Brantley, Pham is a deeply religious person,
CNN reported.
Pham attended Nolan Catholic High School, and went to the accelerated nursing program at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, graduating in 2010. She also attends mass regularly at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church with her family.
"She is a very devoted Catholic, and always puts the other people's interests ahead of her own," said family friend Tom Ha, who has known Pham since she was in 8th grade and taught her in Bible class. He reported that "everybody at the church were crying at that moment" when Pham called to tell them she was infected.
Ha said that Pham's parents, who are political refugees from Vietnam, were completely surprised by the news of their daughter's infection.
"They did not have a concern when the daughter was working with the patient of Ebola," said Ha.
"Once they got the news that their daughter caught it, the family was totally shocked. Many Vietnamese-Americans do not know much about the disease. They really don’t have a concrete idea of what it is, so people are very confused about it."
Pham’s mother, who has not commented publicly on her daughter's diagnosis, has asked supporters "to continue to pray," said Christina Mykhanh Hoang, a church member.
In addition to Pham, Brantly has also donated blood to Ashoka Mukpo, a freelance cameraman being treated at Nebraska Medical Center, and to Dr. Rick Sacra, another American treated there in September. He could not donate blood to Duncan, as they did not have the same blood type.
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