Are you recently recovered from COVID-19? Do you know that we can help others who are going through it right now. If you had COVID and recovered from it and tested negative after 30 days, you can donate plasma to other COVID patients.
What is Plasma Therapy ?
Plasma is a clear, straw-colored liquid portion of blood which remains after red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and other cellular components removed from the blood. It is the single largest component of human blood, comprising about 55 percent, and contains water, salts, enzymes, antibodies and other proteins.
This plasma is 90% water and other 10% transports and supply proteins, minerals and antibodies to your entire body. Plasma contains antibodies which are taken out from the body of COVID recovered patient and sent to COVID recovering patients. This is also an experimental therapy. But this also increases the chance of living of active positive COVID-19 patients.
So, if have recently recovered from covid. Please try to donate plasma and save lives of others. Keep in mind that there are some requirements for you to donate plasma.
Dos and don’t you should know about:
- Age group between 18 to 65.
- Minimum body weight should be 55 Kg’s.
- Hemoglobin should be over 12.
- No infectious diseases or chronic diseases or HIV or co-morbidity should not be there.
- Diabetic and thyroid patients are also not eligible for donation of plasma.
- Conceived people or females with kids are also not eligible.
- Even if you have received plasma. you are not eligible.
- Your body should also have high antibodies.
Because of these requirements. Many people are not even eligible to donate and if you healthy enough. Please take out time and donate plasma to save a life as only 3 out 10 people will be eligible to donate plasma.
Don’t worry. They will test you before they take plasma from you and check all the requirements, and only you can donate if you have to meet them. This plasma donation is very safe for donor. This process is Plasmapheresis.
The Plasma Donation process goes as follow:
- They take out a blood sample and test for antibodies and others.
- Once you are eligible for donation. They call you donate plasma.
- This is just like donating blood (This procedure may take from 30 minutes to 45 minutes of time according to the weight and height of the donor).
- A single needle injected into your hand and connected to a machine (Apheresis machine).
- Now, this machine takes out blood from your body and sent to the machine. This machine uses centrifugal force and separates plasma from blood.
- Finally, they will send this blood back to your body along with saline.
You will be completely stable and good. This repeated several times in the time span (30-45 Minutes) and 400 ml-500 ml of plasma that is removed from the donor and can be used for 3 times.
This method is just like doing dialysis. The best thing about this is. You can donate plasma every 15 Days until you have good antibodies count in your body. This method also doesn’t alter your antibody count in your body. But it will help others to live their life.
List of websites for information on plasma donation:
You can go ahead and register on the above mentioned websites and if anybody needs plasma with same blood group. Volunteers will contact you or just go to your nearest blood donation center and take an antibody test, and the results will tell you. Donation is possible or not.
Don’t worry. it can be stored up to 12 months (1 year) after donation. But now I don’t think so there will be a need of storing the plasma as these days the count of COVID-19 positive patients is high and also we have written another article for people who need oxygen cylinders in this crisis. Do share that if needed.
The choice is yours! Doctors, nurses, frontline workers are trying very hard to save each one. They have been doing this, since a year and still continuing to do that.
Let’s do our part to save other’s lives. Me and my brother have donated plasma once already and we are proud of that and will do until we have good antibodies count. Now, it is your hands now. Share this article to your friends and family who have actively recovered from covid and ask them to donate plasma.
There is so much negativity around us from news to COVID cases. Let’s be a ray of hope to people who are actively recovering from COVID and save their lives by donating plasma.
