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An urgent appeal has been issued for recovered coronavirus patients to donate their blood plasma in a bid to help the NHS treat people who fall ill during a potential second wave.
The number of appointments booked each week as part of the ongoing NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) convalescent plasma collection has dropped by almost half in the past month, with fewer eligible donors as the number of new infections fell in lockdown.
While about 13,000 donations had been made so far, more were urgently needed to help in the event of a second wave, NHSBT’s chief medical officer Gail Miflin said.
A major trial is ongoing, looking at how convalescent plasma can be transfused into patients who are struggling to develop their own immune response, but the appeal for donations is now being descri...
