Iza Calzado to donate blood plasma for COVID-19 patients

April 8 ------ Iza Calzado, whose results turned out to be negative for coronavirus disease 2019 after getting a re-test, is set to donate some of her blood plasma to those who have the disease. According to her manager, Noel Ferrer, the actress immediately agreed to do so. “Nang makausap ko siya kung willing siyang mag-donate ng plasma niya, agad na sumagot ang aktres. Ani Iza: “Yes!,”” Noel wrote in his PEP article. He revealed Iza already said yes to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and Makati Medical Center as both had asked for blood donations. “But has to be 14 days after my first negative result and I just have to be assessed again,” he quoted Iza’s story. “Sabi ni Iza, sa kahit anong paraan para siya makatulong ay gagawin niya,” Noel added. According to Stanford Children’s Health, plasma carries water, salts and enzymes. They said it is a critical component in the treatment of many serious health problems. In an Agence France-Presse article, it’s said that convalescent plasma, the fluid in blood teeming with antibodies post-illness, has proven effective in small studies to treat infectious diseases including Ebola and SARS. Few days ago, PGH was reported to have done attempts to treat severely ill COVID-19 patients by using antibodies found in the blood of survivors. In an interview with GMA News, UP-PGH Spokesperson Jonas del Rosario appealed for blood donations from COVID-19 survivors. He explained that survivors are those who initially tested positive for the disease, got better, then eventually tested negative. “Ang tawag sa kanila survivors. Nagtataglay ang kanilang mga dugo ng antibodies,” he told Arnold Clavio of GMA News. “Gagamitin natin para ibigay naman sa mga pasyente na severely ill sa COVID-19,” he said. However, del Rosario noted that the use of antibodies as treatment is not a standard of care, since it is still in the “experimental stage.” Source: entertainment.mb.com.ph