WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – When the coronavirus struck New York, Sandra Weinstein, a congregant at Young Israel of New Rochelle, said she felt like a pariah.

The first cluster of cases in New York state originated from her synagogue before the virus spread across Westchester County and the state.

Now, she and hundreds of synagogue members could become heroes.

Tuesday, Young Israel members began donating blood, so researchers can determine whether they have enough antibodies to fight off COVID-19. If congregants have sufficient antibodies, they can donate plasma several days later that could be used to help treat people sick with the virus.

A truck was parked outside the synagogue Tuesday for blood donations.

Members who tested positive for the coronavirus and have been symptom-free for 14 days are tested to ensure they are negative for the virus. If they're healthy, the antibody levels in their blood will be studied by medical professionals from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.

“Now that I’m out of quarantine … it’s time to save people,” Weinstein, a New Rochelle resident, said.

More than 1,000 congregants were quarantined for most of March after a 50-year-old synagogue member and New Rochelle resident tested positive for COVID-19 on March 3. About 100 members of the synagogue contracted the virus, leading Gov. Andrew Cuomo to set up a 1-mile containment zone around the synagogue March 12 for two weeks.

Liise-anne Pirofski, chief of Montefiore's Department of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, who is leading the effort, said Young Israel members reached out to the hospital to donate blood. She said the Young Israel cluster is the first cohort of recovered people who can make a difference.

Their plasma would be transferred to at-risk people or infected people as a stopgap measure until a vaccine and new treatments are developed.

The hospital could build a stockpile of plasma to treat patients as the number of cases grows, Pirofski said. Based on outbreaks such as H1N1 and SARS, she’s encouraged this method will help COVID-19 patients.

“To see people who have recovered and recovered with such vigor and spirit, their willingness to help is amazing,” Pirofski said.

Weinstein, 45, tested positive March 6 after experiencing "odd" symptoms. She had a splitting headache, then a low-grade fever and eventually a slight dry cough and shortness of breath. The symptom that alarmed her most was losing her sense of smell and taste.

“My husband made some type of liver, and I said, ‘Ugh, you didn’t make good liver, there’s no flavor to it,’ ” Weinstein said. “And all of (a) sudden, I had no taste and smell. That, to me, has been the worst symptom because that one has lasted.”

While Weinstein and other congregants dealt with the original stigma attached to COVID-19, she said she and others were fortunate they received testing and treatment before the hospital system got overwhelmed.

She has a chance to be a small part of a solution to a worldwide threat.

“If I save someone, if they can learn something, they can make a vaccine,” she said. “Still weird that they’re using my antibodies, my blood, that they’re going to learn from … if we’re going to be that crazy pariah community at this point, let them learn on us. We’re going to give back.”

Young Israel member and high school senior Millie Helft helps coordinate appointments. She said all time slots were filled Tuesday, and blood donations would probably continue Wednesday and Thursday.

Her father and mother suffered from COVID-19, so she saw how debilitating the illness can be.

"I think there's just a really good sense of community, not just Jewish community but really community, of just people working together to do something really beautiful and strong," Helft said.

Young Israel member Stan Weiss, who tested positive March 5, said he felt like he had a “24-hour virus” that wouldn’t go away. An avid cyclist, Weiss, 65, said he believes his exercise routine helped him avoid serious health issues.

Weiss said Young Israel members did their part to slow the virus' spread by remaining quarantined for as long as officials said, a point of pride for him.

Now they're going beyond that.

“If I can help somebody, I’m more than willing,” Weiss said. “If it was the other way around, I’d like someone to help me. It could be a lifesaving procedure for someone.”

Follow David Propper on Twitter: @dg_props