A recovered male coronavirus patient returns to the Wuxi No 5 People's Hospital to donate blood on Feb 20. [Photo/WeChat account: wxbhfb]

A recovered male coronavirus patient from Binhu district returned to the Wuxi No 5 People's Hospital to donate blood in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on Feb 20.

According to an updated version of the guidelines for diagnosing and treating the virus released by top health authorities, such convalescent plasma is recommended for clinical use.

After learning from a report that the blood of recovered patients contains antibodies that can fight pathogens, he became the first recovered novel coronavirus patient to donate blood in Binhu.

The district’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) sent him to the hospital he was discharged from and his blood test results were found to meet the donation criteria.

Xu Hanshun, director of the district’s CDC, who accompanied him throughout the process, said that the donor was thin and weighed only 50 kilograms, just barely reaching blood donation standards.

Considering this was his first ever blood donation and he recently recovered from a serious illness, the hospital only asked him to donate 200 ml, but he insisted on donating 300 ml. After being evaluated, his request was approved.

"I’m very grateful to the medical staff of the CDC and the hospital for their professionalism and caring attitude, which helped me defeat the coronavirus.” He said he is in good health and hopes to help more patients by donating plasma.

The Wuxi No 5 People's Hospital is a hospital in Wuxi designated for treating people infected with the novel coronavirus. According to its Vice President Qiu Yuanwang, the collected plasma will be mainly used for novel coronavirus pneumonia patients in critical condition, and some other recovered patients have expressed a willingness to donate plasma as well.

The donor will also be observed during his 14-day quarantine period. During this time, the CDC will continue to provide him with psychological counseling and nutritional supplements.

The Center for Disease Control of Binhu district arranges for a vehicle to transport the donor. [Photo/WeChat account: wxbhfb]