Dr. Rick Sacra and Dr. Kent Brantly were both infected with Ebola while working in Liberia with the aid organization Serving in Mission . Both were evacuated back to the United States for care . But the two doctors also have another thing in common : They have the same blood type . That little fact could be life-saving for Sacra . Brantly , who tested negative for the deadly virus after several weeks of treatment , recently flew to Nebraska where Sacra is in isolation and donated his blood . Doctors treated Sacra with this plasma on at least two occasions . Doctors believe Brantly has antibodies that Sacra lacks , but his immune system needs to help him fight the deadly virus . `` They are so similar it did n't surprise me that they were the same blood type , '' said his Sacra 's spouse , Debbie Sacra . Sacra 's doctors at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha said their patient is improving every day . `` We were down to the last shot and it worked out great , '' Dr. Phil Smith said at a press conference Thursday about finding a blood match . `` We were hoping to jump start his immunity . '' At this point , doctors do n't feel like Sacra will relapse , but they 've been cautious about predicting success . Doctors in Africa told them there is typically a `` honeymoon period '' for patients after which they often get dramatically worse . Sacra , however , has gotten better daily . Dr. Angela Hewlett said his condition has been moved up to `` good '' from `` stable . '' In addition to the blood transfusion , doctors are giving Sacra aggressive supportive care to help his immune system fight the virus , including electrolytes and IV fluids . The Nebraska doctors have also given Sacra an experimental drug that they will not name . He has received it every day , and his doctors say they believe it is helping . The American patients at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta -- Brantly and Nancy Writebol -- were given an experimental drug called ZMapp , which was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc . The drug had shown promise in small experiments with monkeys , but had not been given to humans until doctors tried it in the Emory patients . Doctors there credit the drug with playing a role in their patients ' successful recoveries , but the company has said there are no more doses of the drug available . Ebola treatment : Does drug offer hope ? It 's possible Sacra has received another experimental drug that 's in production called TKM-Ebola . Nebraska doctors think the current treatment has helped Sacra 's condition significantly . The first day , Smith said , was `` pretty rocky . '' Sacra 's spouse said he had to be sedated on the flight over . On the second day of treatment he was already showing signs of improvement , even with some `` abnormalities in his organ systems . '' On the third day Smith told his colleagues that he liked `` the way this is going . '' His doctors still want Sacra to eat more . Debbie Sacra said he is still weak . On Wednesday the hospital put an exercise bike in his room that he rode for 10 minutes before tiring out . Sacra used to ride 15 to 35 miles in one day , at least a few times a week . Because doctors still know so little about how to defeat the Ebola virus , Smith said Sacra , as a physician , has been a particularly helpful patient . He has been able to give detailed reports about his symptoms . Debbie Sacra said the CDC has told her that they are still trying to find out how her husband got sick in the first place . He was in Liberia treating patients in an obstetrics clinic in Monrovia , not working directly with Ebola patients . The CDC believe it happened during an emergency at the hospital , Sacra said . So far , no one else at Sacra 's clinic has gotten sick . Sacra has done missionary health work for the past 25 years . He had flown to Monrovia in August after learning his colleagues from SIM had gotten sick . Sacra worried Ebola would cause a `` domino effect '' on the already vulnerable Liberian health care system and that people with common ailments would n't get help . When Sacra arrived in Monrovia , that 's exactly what he found . His spouse said there was n't a single pair of latex gloves to buy in the entire city . Without protective equipment , medical clinics shut down . She says Sacra drove from hardware store to hardware store looking for boots to protect his staff . When he was finally able to open the clinic , for some it was too late . She says dozens of pregnant women who needed Cesarean sections turned up at the clinic after having failed to find help anywhere else in the city . By the time these women arrived at Sacra 's clinic `` only the mothers ' lives could be saved . '' Thankful for the support , but also a little embarrassed by the all the attention , Sacra and his spouse asked that Americans remember people are struggling with Ebola in Africa too . `` He wants you to share his burden for the people of Liberia and West Africa , '' Debbie Sacra said . `` Every day and every week that we do n't do what we can to stop Ebola in West Africa , we are risking the possibility that it will not stay in West Africa . ''
American Ebola patient in Nebraska treated with other survivor 's blood . Dr. Rick Sacra has also been given an unnamed experimental drug . Sacra improves daily , hopes Americans continue to help people in West Africa .