TEHRAN – Some 15,039 plasma units have been donated since April 2020 by patients who have been recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, Bashir Haji Beigi, spokesman for the Blood Transfusion Organization has announced.

Following the outbreak of coronavirus, doctors, pharmacists, scientists, and others are looking for a way to control the virus, and so far, many studies and researches have been done in this regard.

One of the studies showed that the plasma driven from recovered patients can be used in the treatment of COVID-19 with the help of the patient's immune system.

Convalescent plasma therapy allows someone who has recovered from a coronavirus infection to donate their blood plasma to someone who is critically ill.

The best time for plasma donation is at least 14 and preferably 28 days after recovery, and donors should age 18 to 60 years.

The highest number of plasma donators were from the provinces of Tehran, West Azerbaijan, Yazd, and Khuzestan, Haji Beigi noted.

Since the beginning of April 2020, some 18,219 patients who recovered from COVID-19 referred to blood transfusion centers across the country, while 15,039 units of plasma were donated.

More than 85 percent of all donated blood worldwide is used to produce blood products, while the rate is 65 percent in Eastern Mediterranean countries. Iran ranks among the highest-income countries in terms of converting more than 97 percent of the blood donated by people to plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP).

Only 55 of 171 countries produce PDMP through the fractionation of plasma collected in the reporting country. A total of 90 countries reported that all PDMP are imported, 16 countries reported that no PDMP was used during the reporting period, and 10 countries did not respond to the question, according to WHO.

FB/MG