Who can donate blood to COVID-19 patients?

Three more coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) survivors donated their blood to the Philippine General Hospital to help other patients battling the virus.

While there is no medicine yet for COVID-19, hospitals have several treatment options for critically ill patients.

One of them is convalescent plasma transfusion, a method which involves the use of blood from recovered patients.

READ: Iza Calzado to donate blood for possible treatment for COVID-19 patients

"Convalescent plasma is plasma taken from a person who has recovered from an infection and contains neutralizing antibodies against the said infection," Dr. Thad Hinunangan said in a Facebook post.

"Giving convalescent plasma to susceptible individuals or infected patients is a form of passive antibody therapy," he added.

The Center for Disease Control defines antibodies as proteins produced by the body to neutralize or destroy toxins or disease-carrying organisms.

PGH is the first hospital in the country to attempt the treatment to COVID-19 patients, but convalescent plasma has been reportedly used in China.

In South Korea, two patients also recovered from COVID-19 after plasma therapy.

Earlier, PGH received blood donations from three recovered COVID-19 patients.

READ: Sonny Angara donates plasma after recovering from COVID-19

Those who wish to donate their blood must be qualified under the following criteria: 

Case 1

• Previously diagnosed with COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR

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• Absence of any clinical evidence of COVID-19 for at least 14 days as determined by a licensed physician
• With at least 1 negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR result done on recovery.

Case 2

• Previously diagnosed with COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR
• Absence of any clinical evidence of COVID-19 for at least 28 days as determined by a licensed physician
• Even without a negative SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR result done on recovery.

Case 3

• No SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test done to document disease
• Absence of any clinical evidence of COVID-19 for at least 28 days as determined by a licensed physician
• Positive result for anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody-based test done on recovery.

The prospective donor must also weigh more than 50 kg and meet the following laboratory parameters:

1. Hemoglobin greater than or equal to 12.5 g/dL for females or 13 g/dL for males (or hematocrit greater than or equal to 38%)
2. Platelet count more than or equal to 150,000
3. Once anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titer assays become available, subsequent donors should have anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody titers of at least 1:160.

Once a donor is placed on a schedule, a PGH team consisting of one pathology resident and one medical technologist will visit to explain the procedure, conduct an interview, and take a blood sample.

The sample will be tested and if everything comes out clear, the donor will be scheduled for the procedure at Paz Mendoza Hall in the University of the Philippines Manila.

On the day of donation, a team will fetch the donor from his house. The donor is allowed to bring one companion.

After the procedure, which usually lasts 60 to 65 minutes, the team will send them home safely.

"We still have a long road ahead of us in combating Covid. The past few days have been a promising start for us," Hinunangan said. "With cooperation and hardwork, we can give our severely ill Covid patients a fighting chance."

As of Tuesday, 295 patients have recovered from COVID-19 in the Philippines. The country has 5,223 confirmed cases and 335 deaths. --Kaela Malig/MGP, GMA News