AN URGENT appeal has been made for men who have had coronavirus to donate blood plasma in Oxford to potentially help save lives.

More than 3,097 people have volunteered to give the part of their blood which may contain covid-fighting antibodies at the city’s donor centre.

Only 39 per cent of them are men, however, despite being more valuable donors. This is because a man booked in to donate for the first time is three times more likely to give a high-antibody unit of plasma than a woman.

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Men generally produce more antibodies, due to them on average being more seriously affected by the virus.

They also normally have larger veins and a larger volume of blood in their circulation, meaning they are more likely to meet the donation requirements on the day.

To date, 1,019 donations have been made at the Oxford centre, which is based at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Plasma from people who have recovered can be transfused into patients who are still unwell and struggling to develop their own immune response.

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NHS Blood and Transplant is collaborating on a trial, with preliminary results expected later this year. Plasma is being collected and stored at a large scale so if the trials show a benefit to patients, there are significant stocks ready for immediate use at hospitals in Oxford and around the country during a second wave.

Professor Dave Roberts, associate director for blood donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “We’re not sure why fewer men than women are offering to donate in Oxford but we need men who have coronavirus symptoms to come forward and offer to donate.

“You don’t need to have had had a positive test – if you had the symptoms, we want to hear from you, as all donations are tested.

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“Please help the NHS fight Covid-19 by donating. It is safe and easy, and you could save lives.”

Convalescent plasma is being collected at 23 donor centres around the country, and several pop-up donor centres, including in Oxford.

Donation takes about 45 minutes. The body usually replaces the plasma donated within two days hours.

The body also quickly replaces the donated antibodies and people can donate plasma as often as every two weeks.