Recovered COVID-19 patients urged to donate plasma

Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony on Friday urged persons who have recovered from the novel coronavirus to donate plasma, since it will prove important in treating intensive patients.

During a virtual press conference, it was noted that convalescent plasma has already been used to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients and doctors have lobbied for its continued use.
“Some of the novel things that we have been doing with our treatment of the more critical patients, we have introduced the use of convalescent plasma. By now, we have treated seven patients who were critically ill. We will continue to use convalescent plasma, because the doctors, having evaluated the patients they have treated, felt that this is a good method of treatment,” the Health Minister explained.
In this light, he is urging recovered patients to donate their plasma to aid the COVID-19 fight. This can be done by visiting the blood bank, where medically-trained staff will extract the antibodies.
Dr Anthony expressed, “We want to urge the public and the persons who would’ve had COVID and recovered from the infection that if they can help us by coming into the blood bank and donating some of their plasma. This can help patients that are critically ill and make a difference between life and death.”
It was highlighted that the Ministry has placed high emphasis on treatment in all regional hospitals and the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Back in April, the first convalescent plasma transfusion for COVID-19 was done in Guyana. Convalescent plasma is defined as the plasma that is extracted from the blood of a person who has recovered from a disease, and then transfused into a patient who is still battling with it.
When a person’s body is exposed to a foreign pathogen, the system produces antibodies to fight off the virus or disease. It works by binding and deactivating these invaders, preventing it from conquering the body.
Persons who have recovered from an illness tend to have a larger number of antibodies in their system, which can linger for some time. These are contained in the plasma. Each virus is said to require its own antibodies.
For the plasma to be donated, it is first collected as a regular blood unit. However, instead of being placed in a bag, it is transferred to a centrifuge where the plasma is separated from the other components of blood.
The blood is returned to the body of the donator with a saline solution and the plasma serum is collected in a separate bag. This step is repeated until the desired amount is collected. On a normal basis, one plasma contribution can yield up to four units. This is later transferred to the patient.
In the past, this form of passive immunisation has been used to treat patients suffering from the Argentine Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola, the H1N1 virus, the Spanish flu and other coronaviruses such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Government was also willing to use Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, which has shown promising results for hospitalized patients. But officials were facing difficulties in accessing the drug, since the United States – where it is produced – was consuming a large volume to aid their uncontrolled situation.
Nevertheless, the Government of India donated its first batch of 240 doses earlier this week, which would be used to treat patients in the COVID-19 ICU. (G12)