It must be tough for families of Covid-19 patients to only watch them from the sidelines. For one Ms Chung, it proved too much to bear, prompting her to look online for blood plasma donors to save her father.
In her Facebook post on Wednesday (4 Mar), Ms Chung appealed for recovered Covid-19 patients to be part of a ‘convalescent plasma’ trial that could save her father’s life.
She shares that her father, Case 109, is gravely ill and hopes that her plea can help fast track therapy for critically ill patients.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reports that doctors in Shanghai are using infusions of blood plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients to treat those still battling the coronavirus.
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Dr Mike Ryan, head of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) health emergencies programme, explains that the treatment works by giving the patient’s immune system a boost of concentrated antibodies obtained from the plasma of the recovered donor.
This has to be administered at the right time for maximum efficacy.
According to Xinhua News, a Chinese official said that convalescent plasma therapy has proved effective on severe Covid-19 cases.
A separate report on the site shares that patients have shown improved clinical symptoms 12-24 hours after treatment, with main inflammatory indexes decreased significantly and blood oxygen saturation improving significantly.
Case 109 has been identified by Zaobao as Zheng Yalie – name translated from Chinese – a 70-year-old Singapore citizen with no recent travel history to affected countries and regions.
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Prior to admission, he worked at Fish Mart Sakuraya but did not serve customers or handle food.
According to Ministry of Health (MOH), Mr Zheng sought treatment at a clinic on 27 and 28 Feb. He was immediately isolated when he went to Singapore General Hospital on 29 Feb. On 2 Mar, he tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr Zheng is currently warded in an isolation room at SGH.
Members of the public who want to volunteer can find out more from Ms Chung’s Facebook post here.
Hopefully, the convalescent plasma trial proves effective in helping patients recover.
Featured image adapted from Zaobao and Xinhua News.
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