Coronavirus: NHS appeals for blood plasma from survivors for trial to help new COVID-19 patients
Those recovering from COVID-19 are being urged to give convalescent plasma, which contains antibodies that stop the virus growing.
Monday 20 April 2020 08:22, UK
The NHS is asking coronavirus survivors to donate their blood plasma in the hope it can eventually use it to treat new patients with COVID-19.
The NHS Blood and Transplant Service (NHSBT) is appealing to those who are recovering from the disease to give convalescent plasma, which contains antibodies that stop the virus growing.
It wants to use this in clinical trials in its fight against the pandemic, but says donors must have tested positive for the illness, either at home or in hospital, and should now be three to four weeks into their recovery - ideally 29 days.
The number of the helpful antibodies rise steadily in the blood stream of those who have been ill, and are thought to peak between 21 and 28 days after recovery, according to the NHS.
Plasma donation is not the same as blood donation.
The process takes around 45 minutes because it separates plasma from the blood as you donate, in a process called apheresis.
Sessions, which give two units of plasma, can be repeated as regularly as every fortnight - but not everyone can donate.
The NHSBT says only those in England can do so, and that the following criteria also needs to be met.
You have to:
- 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
Previous research has suggested antibodies drawn from the blood of COVID-19 survivors improves the symptoms of patients severely ill with the disease.
Scientists in China, who conducted the preliminary study, said no serious adverse reactions were observed after convalescent plasma transfusion.
Ten patients received a 200ml dose of plasma, and researchers said all clinical symptoms, which also included fever and cough, subsided within three days.
In a statement, the NHSBT said it was "preparing to collect COVID-19 convalescent plasma from people who have recovered from this illness".
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"If fully approved, the trials will investigate whether convalescent plasma transfusions could improve a COVID-19 patient's speed of recovery and chances of survival.
"All clinical trials have to follow a rigorous approval process to protect patients and to ensure robust results are generated.
"We are working closely with the government and all relevant bodies to move through the approvals process as quickly as possible."