KUWAIT: Kuwait's Central Blood Bank yesterday appealed to all those recovering from COVID-19 to donate blood in order to meet the growing demand for immune plasma. The Director of the Department of Blood Transfusion Services at the Ministry of Health Dr Reem Al-Radwan said in a press statement that due to the update by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the adoption of immune plasma use to treat infected patients, as well as the continuous demand for blood by hospitals, they appeal to all COVID-19 recovered patients to take the initiative to donate immune plasma to save patients' lives.

Kuwait's COVID-19 cases up 787 to 128,080, deaths by three

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced yesterday it registered 787 additional COVID-19 cases in a span of 24 hours, increasing the total number of infections to 128,080, while three new deaths were added to a death toll of 789. Additionally, active cases amounted to 8,211, with 110 of them in intensive care units, MoH's Spokesman Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said.

Health authorities conducted 6,737 swab tests in 24 hours to a total of 933,626, he revealed. Earlier, the ministry confirmed 694 fresh recovery cases, added to a total of 119,080 recoveries thus far. Dr Sanad urged everyone in Kuwait to adhere to precautionary measures against the virus.

Radwan explained the procedures and conditions that must be met before the plasma donation process, including that 14 days must have passed after the recovering person is symptom-free and the end of the quarantine period in order to donate. Other conditions include that the donor must be older than 18 years of age and not suffering from any chronic diseases.

She also urged recovering patients who wish to donate to register through the website link (https://btas-kw.org/ccpdonation), to find out the conditions and make an appointment to donate at the Kuwait Central Blood Bank in Jabriya or Sheikha Salwa Al-Sabah Stem Cell and Umbilical Cord Center. Since the launch of the plasma donation program last April, the equivalent of 1,700 plasma bags have been collected, and 1,200 bags have been dispensed at a rate of 200 plasma bags per month, she pointed out. - KUNA