Howie Severino donates blood plasma for the last time

Howie Serverino, who survived COVID-19 as patient 2828, returned to the hospital to successfully donate his blood plasma for the second time.

Howie first donated his blood plasma in May, a week after he was medically declared to fully recover from the new coronavirus disease.

He made another attempt in July but he was initially declined after his blood plasma did not qualify for donation.

He related, “But by July 20 when I first returned to donate, the antibodies in my blood's plasma had dwindled to below a new standard for transfusion into a desperately ill COVID-19 patient. I was disappointed I couldn't give, but I was also worried about myself. It was true after all that a Covid survivor's antibodies steadily decline.

"The disease is so new that it's still not clear if my antibodies will eventually disappear altogether, and if so, whether that means I can get reinfected.”

According to Howie, he got a message last week that the hospital revised their standard for donation and he was asked to return.

The veteran broadcast journalist shared, “Alas, blood tests showed that my antibodies had declined even more, but they still met the revised standard for donation!

"Med techs promptly hooked me up to an apheresis machine that separated the rich yellow plasma from the other components of my blood which were returned to my body via the same tube.”

Howie was identified as donor number 38 on his first donation. And after more than two months, only 54 blood plasma donations were made before his successful return.

He continued, saying, “I ended up giving 492ml, enough for one patient, the usual amount. It was plasma donation number 93 at PGH in the age of Covid. After the bag of liquid gold was bar-coded, it would join a meager supply of convalescent plasma at PGH. The rising number of new Covid cases in the country coincides with a severe shortage of plasma.”

He also emphasized the need for more blood plasma donations as he expressed his disappointment that he can no longer make another one.

Howie said, “There are so many critically ill patients now, and so little plasma in refrigerated stock to give them a fighting chance. But I won't be able to give anymore. Doctors in the donor center advised me that another donation could further speed up my antibodies' decline and compromise my health. So that was my last.”

Read his full story here:

Aside from Howie, personalities like Iza Calzado, Senator Migz Zubiri, Senator Sonny Angara have also donated their blood plasma.