I took a coronavirus antibody test and this is what happened

The tests are available to buy - but what happens when you carry one out?

There are scores of tests on the market at the moment which will test your blood for the presence of antibodies produced to fight coronavirus.

The presence of these in your blood will indicate whether you've had the virus or not, and with some people presenting as asymptomatic, you may well be wondering if you've fallen victim to the virus without even knowing it.

Nottingham-based company Medichecks is one of the companies selling these tests, and they can be bought online for £69.

Get our top stories sent to you every day

Want us to send you a daily round-up of our biggest stories, and breaking news alerts, direct to your email inbox?

Sign up to our newsletter here.

I was offered the chance to try the test, and having travelled on public transport and met a large number of people in the days leading up to lockdown, I decided I would put my blood to the test.

The company - which has been selling finger-prick blood tests for 17 years - says the test looks for IgG (immunoglobulin G) antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19. Of course, if these antibodies are present in your blood, there is no indication as to whether they provide immunity, or for how long if they do.

I ordered the kit on Wednesday (May 20) and by 6pm that night, a courier had dropped it off at my home. I was then under instructions to activate the kit online so the time I took my sample could be recorded, and then to take the all-important sample of blood. This was to be done as close as possible to the courier collecting my sample at 10am the next day (Thursday).

Rising at 6.30am, I set about using the finger-prick tool to collect the required amount of blood. This was not as easy as I'd expected and I ended up using two needles on two different fingers and massaging my fingers quite a lot. The tube is also very small, and could easily be knocked over if you're not careful.

If you're not keen on blood, I'd recommend getting someone to help you.

Having eventually collected the right amount of blood, I sealed my vial, put an identification sticker on it and placed it in the envelope provided. My sample was then collected by a courier and whisked off for testing.

I then logged into my Medichecks account and completed a few more details about myself in my profile.

By Saturday morning, I had an email in my inbox informing me that no antibodies had been found in my blood, and it was therefore highly unlikely I'd had COVID-19. I logged into my profile and could see a message from one of the company's doctors, as well as a clear graph showing the amount of antibodies found in my blood.

I'd had no symptoms of the disease, but wanted to see if I could have been one of the asymptomatic victims.

Nevertheless, the test was easy, as was the process of obtaining my results. I can see why these tests are popular, but without the reassurance of immunity, it's clear we should all still be following social distancing guidelines for as long as is recommended - even if we've had the virus.

Full disclosure: I received a complimentary test, but was under no obligation to write about it.