Karl-Anthony Towns to donate $100K to Mayo Clinic for COVID-19 tests
Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns (32) tries to rebound the ball against Dallas Mavericks center Salah Mejri (50) and forward Dirk Nowitzki.[Photo: AP/Stacy Bengs]
Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns announced on Sunday that he would donate $100,000 to Mayo Clinic, which has developed a test to detect COVID-19.
"Our team has been working around the clock for the past month to develop a test for COVID-19,” said Dr. William Morice II, chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic. “We are blown away by Karl’s gesture to help us fast-track offering testing to more patients across Minnesota and the nation.”
The donation is expected to increase Mayo Clinic’s testing capacity from 200 tests per day to 1,000 tests per day in the weeks ahead.
Mayo Clinic announced on Thursday it had fully validated the test and that it was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review and emergency use authorization.