US doctor who recovered from Ebola donates blood again
An American doctor who recovered from Ebola has donated his blood to a second patient, a freelance cameraman who is being treated in Nebraska, a hospital spokesman said Wednesday.
Blood from doctor Kent Brantly, who was infected with Ebola in Liberia over the summer and has since recovered, will be used to treat Ashoka Mukpo, the Nebraska Medical Center said in a statement.
"In an amazing stroke of luck, Dr. Brantly was traveling in the area when called upon to donate his blood," said the statement.
He "stopped to donate. His blood was flown to Omaha and is scheduled to be given to Mukpo today."
Brantly had also donated his blood for another missionary physician, Rick Sacra, who was infected with Ebola while working in Liberia.
Since there is no drug on the market to treat Ebola, the World Health Organization supports the use of blood and serum transfusions from survivors as a potential treatment.
The idea is that it may convey potent antibodies from one person to another.
The technique has been used for years. However, it remains scientifically unknown whether it has helped some patients recover.
Brantly received blood from an Ebola survivor and an experimental drug called ZMapp. Sacra received a transfusion from Brantly and a different investigational drug, TKM-Ebola.
"We are incredibly grateful that Dr Brantly would take the time to do this, not once, but twice," said Angela Hewlett, associate medical director of the Biocontainment Unit at The Nebraska Medical Center.
© 2014 AFP
