Health Secretary Matt Hancock – who has recovered from Covid-19 – shares photo of himself taking part in ‘painless’ clinical trial with plans to give it to 5,000 patients a week if tests are successful
- Health secretary posted the image on Twitter as a nurse took blood from his arm
- In the caption he implored Brits to take part in the ‘painless’ trial if they are asked
- Trial sees plasma from a recovered Covid patient being put in a current sufferer
- Plasma collection has soared so NHS can use the treatment when a trial passes
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Matt Hancock has shared a photograph of himself taking part in a clinical blood plasma trial which could treat up to 5,000 patients a week if tests are successful.
The health secretary, who is among a number of MPs to have had coronavirus, posted the image on Twitter as a nurse took blood from his arm on Saturday.
He added the caption: ‘The hugely important clinical trial will help our NHS treat #coronavirus patients using plasma. If you’re asked, please take part. It’s painless.’
The trialled treatment involves plasma from recovered Covid patients being put into current sufferers who struggle to produce antibodies to fight the virus.
The health secretary posted the image on Twitter as a nurse took blood from his arm on Saturday
The Government has been increasing its collection of plasma so the NHS can start using the treatment in the event of a successful trial.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said this process, which was used to help treat the Sars outbreak, is expected to help 5,000 people per week if the trial is a success.
He said: ‘The UK has world-leading life sciences and research sectors and I have every hope this treatment will be a major milestone in our fight against this disease.
‘Hundreds of people are participating in national trials already for potential treatments and the scaling up of convalescent plasma collection means thousands could potentially benefit from it in the future.’
In order to collect the plasma a 45-minute process is completed where blood is taken from one arm and circulated through a machine that separates out the plasma, and the blood is then returned to the donor.
The NHS Blood and Transplant will contact people in England who have recovered and who might be able to donate, the department said.
The treatment would involve the ‘convalescent plasma’, donated from the blood of people who have recovered from the virus, being transfused to patients who are struggling to produce their own antibodies against the illness
Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van Tam said: ‘The UK is leading the world’s largest trials to find a treatment for Covid-19, with over 7,000 people so far involved testing a range of medicines; we hope to add convalescent plasma to this list shortly.
‘Convalescent plasma has been used as an effective treatment for emerging infections in the past, and this step forward underpins our science-backed approach to fighting this virus.’
Earlier this week a doctors in Massachusetts said that convalescent plasma therapy helped save the life of a coronavirus patient close to death.
The condition of the patient being treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts, was said to improve within hours of being administered with the plasma.
Earlier this week a doctors in Massachusetts said that convalescent plasma therapy helped save the life of a coronavirus patient close to death
Dr Jonathan Gerber, a hematologist at UMass Memorial, said he wasn’t sure the patient was going to live for much longer.
‘He was essentially approaching near maximal settings for the ventilator to keep him alive,’ he told WCVB.
Gerber was shocked that, within a few hours, the patient’s vital signs dramatically improved.
‘(I’m) just ecstatic that it worked, pleasantly surprised,’ he said.
‘It worked better than I expected. We hoped for the best, and, honestly, that was probably the best we could’ve hoped for.’
People who have had a confirmed positive test result and who are willing to donate, can also provide their details through the NHS Blood and Transport wesbite.
