Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte urged people who had recovered from the coronavirus disease to donate their blood plasma to the current COVID-19 patients to facilitate their treatment, The Philippine Star newspaper reported on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th April, 2020) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte urged people who had recovered from the coronavirus disease to donate their blood plasma to the current COVID-19 patients to facilitate their treatment, The Philippine Star newspaper reported on Thursday.
Plasma therapy is believed to be a possible cure against the virus, and works by transfusing plasma of recovered patients, which contains the necessary antibodies, into sick patients.
"Those in UP [the University of the Philippines General Hospital] ... those who recovered, they gain anti-bodies... If you survived COVID, this means your anti-bodies, that fought the virus, are in your body," Duterte was quoted as saying by the media outlet.
According to the Philippines' Health Ministry, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country as of Thursday stands at 4,076, which includes 203 deaths.
On Monday, Philippine authorities extended the enhanced community quarantine on the largest Philippine island of Luzon, home to some 57 million people, until the end of April. The measure entails strict self-isolation, a ban on the use of transportation, the rationing of supplies of food and essential medical products, and an increased military presence in the area to control implementation.
