Over 100 Recovered Coronavirus Patients In China Donate Plasma - Ministry

Over 100 Recovered Coronavirus Patients in China Donate Plasma - Ministry

More than 100 patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-2019, have donated enough blood plasma to treat 200 critical patients, Xu Nanping, China's deputy science minister, said on Friday

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2020) More than 100 patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus, officially dubbed COVID-2019, have donated enough blood plasma to treat 200 critical patients, Xu Nanping, China's deputy science minister, said on Friday.

"According to the latest data, over 100 recovered patients have become plasma donors. The [amount of] plasma donated by them should be enough to prepare over 240 doses to treat patients. That should be enough to treat over 200 patients in serious and critical condition," the official said during a press conference.

He used an example from Wuhan when 6 patients out of 11 had viremia, a medical condition in which the virus has entered the bloodstream, received a plasma transfusion and got better after the procedure.

"Other locations also have critically ill who are treated with blood plasma. The situation has stabilized as of now, so the overall effect is decent," he noted.

At the same time, the deputy minister elaborated, that plasma can only be used when the disease is developing rapidly, or a patient is in serious or critical condition, expressing hope that more recovered patients will donate their plasma to help others.

COVID-2019 was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan, located in the Hubei province, in late December and has since spread to more than 25 countries. The outbreak has already left over 76,000 people infected worldwide and resulted in more than 2,200 fatalities.