While the world continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent rollout of a successful vaccine promises a return to something resembling ‘normality’. As scientists worked hard to develop a vaccine, NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) began looking at the use of convalescent plasma, blood plasma is taken from those who’ve had COVID-19, to treat patients whose immune system is struggling to fight the virus.
Unsurprisingly, trial demand for this antibody-rich plasma was high. Making sure there’s sufficient supply, with donors happy to donate as often as possible, is essential to the ongoing research into treatments for COVID-19.
We’ve been working with NHSBT to improve the donation experience, building lasting relationships with existing donors and with those who may have been unable to donate previously, to increase the amount of urgently needed successful donations while supporting people to donate multiple times.
Improving the donation experience
Most people who can donate convalescent plasma are happy to do so, often seeing it as contributing to action against the pandemic. But NHSBT wanted to go further. Together, we’ve been focusing on four areas that will improve the experience for plasma donors, while supporting people to understand their options.
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