Discharged coronavirus patients volunteer to donate blood for epidemic control

As 28 more patients infected with the novel coronavirus were discharged from hospitals in Shanghai Friday, six of them volunteered to donate their blood for epidemic control.

"Before leaving the hospital, a nurse asked me whether I was willing to donate my blood for the treatment and research of the disease. I thought it was a great chance to help others after being helped," said a blood donor surnamed Liu.

"Now that I'm recovered, my blood could contain antibodies that might be helpful for those in serious conditions to combat the virus," he said.

As of Friday, a total of 90 coronavirus patients had been discharged from Shanghai hospitals, according to Zheng Jin, a spokesperson for the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

"We call on cured patients to donate blood a few weeks after they check out from the hospitals, which can help save more people," said Lu Hongzhou, secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.

According to Lu, experts in Shanghai are teaming together when saving those in critical and serious conditions, continuously improving treatment methods based on newly-gained experiences.

Zheng Jin said traditional Chinese medicine has been used in 90 percent of the confirmed cases that are being treated in designated hospitals in Shanghai.