Picture: Lizzi Wallace makes her 12th blood plasma donation at the JR
A SCIENCE teacher is believed to be the most prolific female coronavirus blood plasma donor in Oxford, and possibly the entire UK.
Lizzi Wallace has now made 12 trips to the John Radcliffe Hospital since June to give the potentially life-saving plasma.
Blood plasma is a yellowish liquid that makes up about half of a person’s blood volume.
After a virus, this plasma contains antibodies that are used to help fight infection.
The 39-year-old, who travels to the JR from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, came down with Covid in mid-March, before the country went into lockdown.
As testing for Covid-19 was limited at the time she was not sure she had the virus but had many of the symptoms including a loss of taste and smell. In May, she decided to buy an antibody test to know for sure if she’d had the virus and once it was confirmed decided to see if she was eligible to donate blood plasma.
Each time her blood is checked to make sure she still has enough of the coronavirus-fighting antibodies needed to make the donation useful.
She said: “Unfortunately, my tenth donation failed which meant I had to take four weeks off, but my eleventh and twelfth donations were very smooth – a sign that my body perhaps needed that short break.”
The mother-of-two added it had been ‘amazing’ to see the rollout of vaccines, saying: “Importantly, the convalescent plasma has been used as a source of antibodies for clinically extremely vulnerable patients who are not able to have the vaccine, for example those in the middle of chemotherapy.”
The level of antibodies in blood plasma deteriorates over time, with how quickly this happens different for each person though men usually have higher amounts.
Ms Wallace said: “I feel so lucky that my body has kept my antibody levels high and the scientist in me often thinks about my blood samples travelling to Porton Down for analysis by Public Health England.
“The team at the Oxford donation clinic are so kind and professional, and now we are back in full lockdown, my trips to the clinic have become the social highlight of my week. Who doesn’t love a good chat and endless biscuits?”
She said her 13th donation will result in receiving a 25th blood donation badge, something she said she ‘could never have imagined’ back in June.
The teacher added: “As a recovered needle-phobe, I will feel very proud of this achievement.”
Anyone aged 18 or over who has had Covid-19 can offer to donate blood plasma. It takes just 45 minutes to donate and the whole appointment lasts just over an hour.
Article Credit: oxfordmail.co.uk