Soldiers in Cebu donate plasma for COVID-19 patients

At least 26 COVID-19 survivors from the 53rd Engineer Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) donate plasma on Thursday, July 30. | Photos courtesy of AFP – Central Command (CentCom) #CDNDigital

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Soldiers, who recovered from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), decided to donate their plasma to help patients still suffering from the infection.

At least 26 soldiers from the 53rd Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army participated in the donation drive at Camp Lapulapu in Cebu City on Thursday, July 30.

“Personnel of 53 (Engineering Brigade), who were infected with the virus and successfully recovered, gathered together to donate plasma in the hopes of increasing patient recovery and saving more lives,” the Armed Forces of the Philippines Central Command (AFP-Centcom) said in a press release.

“This activity is in partnership with the Department of Health Region 7 (DOH – 7) and United Architect of the Philippines–Sugbu Chapter,” they added.

Convalescent plasma treatment is one of the highly documented treatments for COVID-19 in which ‘healthy plasma’ from coronavirus survivors are infused to patients still suffering from the infection.

Plasma is a component in the blood that contained water, salts, enzymes, antibodies, and other proteins. Those extracted from COVID-19 survivors were believed to contain antibodies needed to boost a patient’s immune system in fighting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease.

According to AFP-Centcom, they have recorded at least a dozen of their uniformed personnel confirmed to have been afflicted with COVID-19 for working at the frontlines of the pandemic.

“Since the onset of the pandemic, the entire troops of the Philippine Army were mobilized to support the efforts of the government in defeating the unseen enemy. Thousands were deployed to man hotspot areas, checkpoints and even more were involved in the distribution of relief goods,” they said.

“Despite having many of its personnel tested positive of COVID-19, the unit did not stop their initiatives and continued to extend help to different sectors of the community,” they added.

Aside from the AFP, other law enforcers and responders in Cebu from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) also took part in the plasma donation drive. /dbs