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Wales' biggest hospital is to become the first in the UK to use a potentially groundbreaking "antibody transfusion" treatment on coronavirus patients.

The treatment which will be carried out on patients at the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff uses the blood plasma taken from people who have already recovered from Covid-19.

Their plasma is then transfused into other patients with the coronavirus to help them fight the infection more quickly.

Recovered patients are being invited by letter, if eligible, by Public Health Wales to donate blood to the scheme.

Senior professional advisor to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Gill Richardson, said: "Convalescent plasma is plasma that is collected from patients who have recovered from disease, in this case Covid-19.

"Plasma from patients who have recovered from the virus will contain antibodies that a patient's immune system has produced to fight the virus. This can be transfused to patients whose immune systems are struggling to develop their own antibodies.

"The Welsh Government has worked at speed with our expert scientists at the Welsh Blood Service, the Department of Immunology at University Hospital of Wales, critical care consultants and Public Health Wales to launch this innovative scheme.

"In the absence of any current vaccine or antiviral therapy, it has significant potential to aid the recovery of patients."

Non-Covid-19 plasma has been used daily in NHS Wales for a variety of needs for many years.

But it is understood the Covid-19 convalescent plasma will help patients develop immunity as it "transfuses" antibodies against the virus, helping the receiving patient recover.

The Welsh Blood Service, Welsh Government, Public Health Wales and University Hospital of Wales are now working with partners across the UK to share their experiences of the treatment.

Map of coronavirus cases in Wales

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: "It's brilliant to see Wales is playing a leading role on this project which has the potential to significantly improve patient recovery and save lives.

"We will be capturing all outcomes and feeding into the UK and worldwide learning on the use of this technology."

The plasma will be collected and processed by the Welsh Blood Service from donors who have fully recovered and are virus free.

It will be collected no sooner than 28 days after recovery and has to match the established safe blood donor selection criteria.

Stuart Walker, executive medical director for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said: "Our expert staff, working at the University Hospital of Wales, are delighted that we have been able to contribute to the development of this ground breaking treatment.

"The Covid-19 convalescent plasma programme, which represents a truly innovative potential treatment for patients with severe Covid disease, is only possible due to fantastic cooperative working between Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, Cardiff University, Welsh Government, Public Health Wales and the Welsh Blood service.

"We are very much looking forward to the first use of this treatment in patients at UHW, as this offers a genuine therapeutic option for this potentially fatal condition."