Recovered COVID-19 Patients Urged to Donate Blood Plasma to Help Existing Patients

The Thai Red Cross Society urges all fully recovered COVID-19 patients to donate their blood plasma to help current COVID-19 patients battling with the virus.  The blood plasma will help fight off the disease and prevent the illness from escalating into severe pneumonia.  Qualified donors must be fully recovered COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from the hospital and self-quarantined at home for at least 14 days.

Blood plasma is a key component to treating patients with severe conditions as these plasma cells produce antibodies to attack the virus and contributes to the body’s immune system.  In general, these antibodies will build up during the 2nd to 4th week after recovery and can help stop the virus from destroying the lung cells, which can cause pneumonia and other damages throughout the body.  Plasma treatment in life-threatening COVID-19 cases also show a higher percentage of recovery.  More plasma donations mean the survival rate will be higher in Thailand.

Associate Professor Dootchai Chaiwanichsiri, Director of the National Blood Centre, Thai Red Cross Society explained that, from the observation of COVID-19 cases from all over the world, the type of treatment and medication administered depend on the case and the symptoms.  Meanwhile, vaccine production is still in the stages of research and development.  The National Blood Centre at Thai Red Cross Society usually collects plasma donations to treat patients with various diseases.  If the center is able to receive more donations of the recovered plasma, more COVID-19 patients will survive.

Professor Dr. Yong Poovorawan, Head of Center of Excellence in Clinical Virology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University and Consultant at the National Blood Centre says that plasma of ex-COVID-19 patients is beneficial in supporting the recovery of extreme cases.  Research findings show that blood plasma can be used to treat existing patients safely and effectively.  This treatment has also been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA) for use in emergency COVID-19 cases.

For more information, please contact the National Blood Centre at the Thai Red Cross Society at 0-2263-9600-99.

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