Donors needed for new Covid-19 Plasma Donation Centre in Lincolnshire and Humberside

Images from another plasma donation centre elsewhere in the UK.

The Lincolnshire and Humberside donor centre will open as one of 14 new plasma donation centres supporting two Covid-19 treatment trials.

The new centre will open in the next few weeks, and the final venue is being agreed and will be announced shortly.

There is an urgent need for people in Lincolnshire and Humberside who’ve had Covid-19, to register as donors now, so that they can be booked into appointments in advance. You can register online by searching ‘donate plasma’ or visit www.nhsbt.nhs.uk.

The antibody-rich plasma of people who’ve had coronavirus can be transfused into people who are struggling to develop their own immune response. The antibodies could slow or stop the virus spreading, which could save lives.

There is promising evidence for the effectiveness of convalescent plasma but before general use patient benefit needs to be demonstrated in randomised control trials. The NHS Blood and Transplant led trials are the world’s largest randomised clinical trials of convalescent plasma.

Donations are urgently needed so that if the trial confirms patient benefit, plasma can be made readily available for general use in the NHS.

NHSBT currently collects plasma in 28 areas, and Lincolnshire and Humberside is one of 14 chosen for the expansion of autumn and winter because it has a significant number of potential donors.

Professor David Roberts, NHSBT Associate Medical Director for Blood Donation, and also one of the trial’s principal investigators, said: “We have so far seen a fantastic response from the public. We would love to see people in Lincolnshire and Humberside offering to donate so we can book them into donation appointments now. Donation is safe and easy, and you could save lives.”

Donation takes about 45 minutes, and the whole visit – including the donation, snacks and checks - takes about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Your body usually replaces the plasma you’ve donated within 24 to 48 hours, and your body also quickly replaces the donated antibodies.