By Miguel Cortez
Melbourne, Australia, 14th July – As the rate of infections are getting higher each day, Victoria is bracing itself for a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. From Chloroquine to the just been approved drug, Remdesivir, the race of creating a vaccine or a cure for COVID-19 is becoming more vital than ever. Now, another research using blood plasma therapy is thought to be effective for treating COVID-19 patients.
Blood plasma therapy involves using blood plasma from recovered patients of COVID-19 and infusing them to patients who are currently very ill. The antibodies from the blood plasma of those who have recovered can help those who are critically ill. A high number of qualified applicants are needed to accelerate the research for this treatment. Though this research is still preliminary, there are high hopes of treating COVID-19 though blood plasma therapy.
In South Korea, members of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a Christian denomination, who have fully recovered are willingly donating blood plasma to be used for research purposes and clinical trials in hopes to speed the development of a vaccine on Monday, 13th July. The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has since installed three donation blood cars in Daegu, South Korea, to be used on the 13th until the 18th of this month to extract blood plasma from the 500 participants.
Earlier in July, Chairman Lee Man-hee of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (hereinafter referred to as Shincheonji), stated; “I am very thankful to the South Korean government, which took charge in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and providing treatment for it. This is not something our church could resolve.” He also added a message to thank the Shincheonji members in Daegu, who decided to donate their plasma needed in developing this COVID-19 vaccine.
Some argued that Shincheonji’s contribution is to distract from tax evasion charges and the allegation that the church provided false information of its members to the authorities. A representative from Shincheonji Daegu church has said, “I hope you will look at it from the perspective of the believers. There is no other meaning, such as changing the image. Even a small amount of payment to help towards transportation for the plasma donors is not accepted by them,” he said.
“We will sincerely face examinations by the prosecution and the tax agency,” the church official said. “We just want to support the development of a vaccine.”
With every country’s health care system racing to find a cure or vaccine for COVID-19, citizens of South Korea in Daegu, that belong to Shincheonji Church of Jesus are doing their part in hopes that other people can have a speedy recovery. This is a step towards a cure and brings hope not just in South Korea but for everyone around the world.
Shincheonji Church of Jesus, South Korea
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