MANILA, Philippines — Three Filipinos who survived the coronavirus disease donated blood plasma to the Philippine General Hospital in a bid to help severely ill patients recover from the illness.
Three “brave and healthy” COVID-19 survivors donated blood on Thursday, during the country’s commemoration of the Day of Valor, PGH spokesperson Jonas Del Rosario said on a Facebook post Friday.
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“They rose above the stigma and showed the world that their plasma is a gift of life,” he said.
Currently, there is no vaccine and specific medicine to prevent or treat COVID-19. But experts have pointed to the potential benefits of plasma—a blood fluid—from recovered COVID-19 patients who have developed antibodies to the virus enabling the body’s defenses to attack it.
Convalescent plasma has also proven effective in small studies to treat infectious diseases including Ebola and SARS.
PGH recently urged individuals who have been cleared of the illness to donate blood to help patients in severe condition. Those who want to donate blood may contact 155-200.
The Philippines has so far reported 4,076 cases—207 of whom have died. At total of 124 people have recovered from the illness. — Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Agence France-Presse
If you believe you have come into possible contact with infected patients, you may be directed to the proper office of the Department of Health for advice through the following lines: (632) 8651-7800 local 1149/1150 or (632) 165-364.
You may also opt to call the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at (02) 8807-2631/ 8807-2632/ 8807-2637.