Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson donate blood for coronavirus vaccine

As researches are being conducted to find a cure for COVID-19, Hollywood couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have donated their blood to check the possibility of whether a vaccine can be developed from cured coronavirus patients.

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, who were diagnosed with the respiratory disease in March, have taken several initiatives to help fight the battle against coronavirus pandemic. In their latest contribution to the cause, the couple has donated their blood and plasma to medical researchers to help develop a coronavirus vaccine, or as Hanks would like to call it "Hank-ccine."

The "Forrest Gump" actor opened up about their move on "NPR's Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me" podcast via MSN, and said: "A lot of the questions (are) what do we do now? Is there something we can do? And, in fact, we just found out that we do carry the antibodies."

The 63-year-old further revealed that not only they have been approached, but have also responded with "Do you want our blood? Can we give plasma?"

"And, in fact, we will be giving it now to the places that hope to work on what I would like to call the 'Hank-ccine,'" the "Cast Away" actor quipped.

Hanks and Wilson were diagnosed with the respiratory illness when they were in Sydney, Australia, for the pre-production of Baz Luhrmann's untitled Elvis Presley film from Warner Bros in which Hanks stars as Elvis's manager, Colonel Tom Parker. The couple announced their diagnosis on social media on March 11 and returned to their home in Los Angeles later that month after being cured.

Upon arriving in the US, Hanks and Wilson were enrolled in a medical study to determine if their antibodies can be helpful for the scientists working on developing a vaccine, and they later found that they do carry the antibodies.

The Oscar-winning actor had earlier spoken about the symptoms he and his wife had to deal with due to the virus. In a conversation with "The National Defense Radio Show," the actor had revealed that COVID-19 left him "fatigued" while his felt "nauseous" and suffered from much worse symptoms.