London based Eleisha Rae Kennedy is currently working with NHS Blood and Transplant to help fight Covid-19 in the UK

London based Eleisha Rae Kennedy is currently working with NHS Blood and Transplant to help fight Covid-19 in the UK

EURO WEEKLY NEWS spoke exclusively with London based Eleisha Rae Kennedy who is currently working with NHS Blood and Transplant.

Up until the beginning of the Coronavirus health crisis, Eleisha was working as a tour guide showing tourists around London and places like the British Museum.

However, she began to feel ill and decided to self-isolate. Luckily for her, her symptoms passed within around a week.

“At that point, tour operators had ceased business due to lack of custom and I found out that the NHS was looking for volunteers for the Nightingale project, so I applied.

“When Nightingale hospitals called me back they discussed a position with NHS Blood and Transplant, which I was very happy to take on,” said Eleisha.

“They were creating a trial where we would take convalescent plasma from people who had had the Covid infection and had recovered in the hope that the subject may have higher antibody levels that may fight the virus,” she explained and went on to say that “Donors were able to give plasma through a transfusion 28 days after their symptoms had passed. Also, donors were either contacted by the government or had registered for the trial.”

Eleisha also spoke of some situations during assessment where there were not enough antibodies and also that not many women can donate as criteria state the donor must weigh more than 70 kilos and be of a certain height. Also the transfusion it is a two-way system the blood goes out, the machine separates your red cells from the plasma and then puts the red cell back in, to do that you need a large vein and men tend to have larger veins.

The trials are taking place at the flagship clinic in the west end of London but are soon to stretch to other pop-up clinics throughout the city.

At this moment in time, there are four people receiving treatment and being constantly monitored for improvements.

When asked about the positive impact of the work she is doing Eleisha said, “Many of the donors have had a tough time, some have been very ill or lost family members. They really want to help in any way they can. To see that is humbling.”

Author badge placeholder
Written by

Damon Mitchell

From the interviewed to the interviewer

As frontman of a rock band Damon used to court the British press, now he lives the quiet life in Spain and seeks to get to the heart of the community, scoring exclusive interviews with ex-pats about their successes and struggles during their new life in the sun.

Originally from Scotland but based on the coast for the last three years, Damon strives to bring the most heartfelt news stories from the spanish costas to the Euro Weekly News.

Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews

Comments