NHS Blood and Transplant are asking patients who have recovered from Covid-19 to donate blood plasma.
The request for donations is to start a potential clinical trial to help combat Covid-19.
If the trial is approved, the NHS state that it will tell them how effective convalescent plasma (plasma from those who have had coronavirus), is for treating Covid-19 patients.
NHS Blood and Transplant state that:
“If you have had a positive test result for COVID-19, or have had symptoms of COVID-19, you can help us by registering to donate plasma at one of our main donor centres.”
“Not everyone will be able to donate. You need to meet some eligibility criteria:
- be between 17 and 66 years old
- weigh between 50kg and 158kg
- not be pregnant, or had a baby, miscarriage or termination within six months
- not have an existing or previous heart condition
- not have had a transfusion since 1st January 1980.”
You can register your details here:
Following registration, NHS Blood and Transplant will be in touch over the coming weeks to instruct about next steps.
Convalescent plasma is a yellowish liquid that makes up half of our blood volume.
After being infected with a virus, our plasma contains antibodies that help fight future infection.
Convalescent plasma is antibody-rich plasma; in this case from Covid-19.
Plasma cannot be collected sooner than 28 days after recovery according to NHS Blood and Transplant.
Potential donors must have fully recovered from Covid-19.
Plasma donation is not the same as blood donation, as plasma needs to be separated from blood as a person donates.
This process is called ‘apheresis’.
NHS Blood and Transplant Donor Centres are as follows:
- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Bristol
- Cambridge
- Gloucester
- Lancaster
- Leeds City Centre
- Leicester
- Liverpool
- London Edgware
- London Tooting
- London West End
- Luton
- Manchester Plymouth Grove
- Manchester City Centre
- Newcastle
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Sheffield
- Southampton
- Stoke
