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Polish PM urges COVID-19 survivors to donate plasma

09.11.2020 07:15
The Polish prime minister has urged coronavirus survivors to donate blood plasma to help severely ill patients amid a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Polands Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a visit on Saturday to the southern city of Katowice where a temporary hospital is being built for coronavirus patients.
Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki speaks during a visit on Saturday to the southern city of Katowice where a temporary hospital is being built for coronavirus patients.Photo: PAP/Andrzej Grygiel

In a social media message, Mateusz Morawiecki said at the weekend that “the autumn wave of the coronavirus has hit harder than any scenarios could have foreseen.”

He added that countries throughout the world were struggling with rising infections and deaths.

In a recording posted on Facebook, Morawiecki joined doctors in their appeals to survivors to give blood and plasma to aid the treatment of people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“Until an effective vaccine is invented, blood is one of the methods that can help slow down the disease and thus perhaps save people’s lives," Morawiecki said on Saturday.

"I would like to appeal to all those who have recovered: Please give blood if you can. By becoming a blood donor and donating plasma, you will be helping save lives," he added.

Doctors say the plasma of people who have recovered from the coronavirus contains antibodies that can help seriously ill patients fight the infection.

A total of 546,425 people have tested positive for the COVID-19 disease in Poland since the start of the pandemic, and 7,872 have died in connection with the coronavirus so far, officials said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, 209,363 patients have recovered from the disease throughout the country, according to the Polish health ministry.

On Saturday, Poland reported a record 27,875 new coronavirus infections, the highest daily figure since the pandemic hit the country in early March.

(gs)

Source: PAP