Plea for Kirklees coronavirus survivors to come forward to donate their plasma

NHS Blood and Transplant needs as many donors as possible to come forward following the local spike in cases, to enable as many donations as possible to be taken now.

The blood plasma from people who have recovered from the virus can potentially save the lives of people who are still ill.

A local outbreak of COVID-19 cases means there are more potential donors in the city than in many other parts of England.

More than 150 donations of COVID-19 convalescent plasma have been taken at Bradford donor centre.

NHS Blood and Transplant needs people to come forward to help make sure appointments are filled.

People who have had a positive test for coronavirus are being asked to get in touch. Men who have had the symptoms but no test are also being asked to get in touch.

An NHS Blood and Transplant spokesperson said: “Every new offer to donate is incredibly valuable. We particularly need men to come forwards as they generally have higher antibody levels.

“Kirklees has seen an increase in positive cases in recent weeks. We urgently need as many people as possible who have recovered to donate, to help us make as much progress as possible now.”

“Donations can also be frozen to ensure convalescent plasma is readily available, should there be a rise in infections in the coming weeks.”

“Please, help the NHS fight COVID-19 by donating at Kirklees donor centre. You could save lives.”

Convalescent plasma is being collected at NHSBT’s 23 donor centres around the country, and several pop-up donor centres.

Donation takes about 45 minutes. Your body usually replaces the plasma you’ve donated in 24-48 hours. Your body also quickly replaces the antibodies. People can donate plasma as often as every two weeks.

The donor plasma contains antibodies against the virus which can be transfused into people who are struggling to develop their own immune response.

Potential donors are being prioritised according to who is likely to have higher antibody levels. Some people will be asked to make a short visit first to give a blood sample, to confirm their antibody levels are high enough for the trial.

NHS Blood and Transplant’s Clinical Trials Unit is collaborating on the trial with the RECOVERY and REMAP-CAP platform trials.