Organ Donation: You could save upto 9 Lives
If you needed an organ transplant would you have one?
If so, please help those in need of a transplant by opting to donate organs and tissue.
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Donating Blood
Blood and platelet stocks are good but please keep donating.
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Donating Blood Plasma
We are leading a programme to collect plasma to help with national clinical trials.
Plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 may save the lives of people who are still ill.
Two clinical trials are underway to confirm the safety and effectiveness of these transfusions. The trials are also exploring other treatments for people with COVID-19.
As part of these trials we are:
- collecting plasma from people who’ve had COVID-19
- managing the convalescent plasma aspects of the trials, including hospital set up and staff training
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Donating Blood Plasma: More info
Below is Stephen Craib Donating Plasma: Read his story
Stephen Craib spent eight days in hospital and on Thursday November 26 became the first person in England to donate convalescent plasma 15 times.
The 42-year-old dad of two from Carshalton in London was treated at the St Helier Hospital after falling ill at the end of March.
He donates at the Twickenham plasma pop-up centre.
Stephen is a keen cyclist who has broken several bones and said: “The NHS has done so much for me over the years, this is a way to give back.
“The donation process is lovely really, because of the staff. To me, it’s ‘why wouldn’t I do it’, if I have the antibodies to help someone else.”
Stephen is a manager at Royal Mail Twickenham and donates at the Twickenham plasma pop-up centre.
He spent a week becoming increasingly ill before he was taken to hospital by ambulance and put on a dedicated COVID ward, suffering from COVID-induced pneumonia.
“It was the loneliest place in the world,” he said. “At first I was the only person on a four-bed unit. Everyone was in PPE. I was struggling to breathe. But I was so out of it that I don’t remember feeling scared.”
He was put on oxygen and antibiotics, and given nebulizers four times a day to keep his airways open.
Stem Cell and Bone Marrow Transplants
A stem cell or bone marrow transplant replaces damaged blood cells with healthy ones. It can be used to treat conditions affecting the blood cells, such as leukaemia and lymphoma.
Stem cells are special cells produced by bone marrow (a spongy tissue found in the centre of some bones) that can turn into different types of blood cells.
The 3 main types of blood cell they can become are:
- red blood cells – which carry oxygen around the body
- white blood cells – which help fight infection
- platelets – which help stop bleeding
A stem cell transplant involves destroying any unhealthy blood cells and replacing them with stem cells removed from the blood or bone marrow.
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