TEHRAN – So far, 2,350 patients who have recovered from coronavirus have referred to blood transfusion centers for plasma donation, Bashir Haji Beigi, the spokesman for the Blood Transfusion Organization, has stated.

Currently, in 22 out of 31 provinces of the country, a plan to collect plasma from COVID-19 recovered patients is underway, he noted.

The best time for plasma donation is at least 14 and preferably 28 days after recovery, and donors should age 18 to 60 years, he further explained.

Peyman Eshghi, head of the Blood Transfusion Organization, also said that “After China, Iran is the second country in the world to have a plasma treatment plan for COVID-19, and the United States is one step behind Iran.”

Later on, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and some other European countries started plasma treatment and requested Iran to share its experience.

Plasma therapy has so far reduced coronavirus deaths in Iran by 40 percent as proved to be a life-saving method for those recovering from COVID-19.

Convalescent plasma therapy allows someone who has recovered from a coronavirus infection to donate their blood plasma to someone who is critically ill.

The number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in Iran reached 220,180 on Saturday, of whom 10,364 have died and 180,661 recovered so far. Over the past 24 hours, 2,456 new cases of people having the virus have been identified, and 125 died, Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said.

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