New donor centre opens in West Sussex for COVID-19 plasma trial
It means there are now four sites in the South East.
An urgent appeal has gone out to anyone who has had COVID-19 to register as a blood plasma donor, as a new donation centre opens in West Sussex.
Around 35 people have already booked in to donate at the centre, which is located at the Hilton Avisford Park in Arundel.
It means there are now four sites in the South East, with other centres already open in Oxford, Southampton and Reading.
Last week, more than 1,250 people in the South East registered online as willing donors.
The antibody-rich plasma collected will be used in clinical trials to determine whether the it could be an effective treatment for COVID-19.
It is transfused into patients who are struggling to develop their own immune response.
The antibodies could slow or stop the virus spreading, which NHS Blood and Transplant has said "could save lives".
Around 275 people have already received transfusions at hospitals in the region as part of the trials.
Professor Mike Murphy, consultant haematologist for NHS Blood and Transplant and Oxford University Hospitals, and professor of transfusion medicine at the University of Oxford, told Greatest Hits Radio:
"We're hoping to have the results of those trials in the next few weeks so we're scaling up collection of plasma so that if the trials demonstrate effectiveness then we have plenty of plasma available to treat more patients.
"We urgently need people who've had coronavirus or the symptoms of coronavirus to donate now.
"We urgently need more donors.
"Your plasma donation could save lives and that's why we're making this appeal."
NHS Blood and Transplant has said they "especially need" more male and BAME donors to come forward as their plasma is more likely to contain the higher levels of antibodies required.
People who needed hospital treatment are also "especially likely" to have high antibody levels.
Lee Wright, NHS Blood and Transplant area manager, said:
"We would love to see people in and around Arundel offering to donate so we can book them into donation appointments now.
"Donation is safe and easy, and you could save lives.
"Your body quickly replaces the antibodies afterwards."
By the end of this year, there will be 42 plasma donation points across England so that 80 per cent of potential donors can reach one within 45 minutes.
Anybody who has had confirmed coronavirus or the symptoms can volunteer to donate plasma online.