ORENBURG, October 5. /TASS/. Preparation for treatment of patients with a severe form of the novel coronavirus infection based on blood plasma of patients who have already had the disease is being developed in Russia, Russian Healthcare Minister Mikhail Murashko told journalists on Monday.

"Today the work is underway on the preparation on the basis of plasma of donors who had the disease. This is the anti-COVID immunoglobulin and in order to produce this preparation, the material will be the plasma of patients who had the disease, in order to attain a highly-concentrated preparation to be administered to seriously ill patients," the minister said.

He also noted that the Orenburg Region was among the first ones to sign contracts for delivery of blood plasma of those who have already had the coronavirus infection in order to produce this preparation on an industrial scale. "Today, donorship, voluntary donorship is highly relevant. This means that one human being is saving the life of another," the minister added.

The press service of Russia’s Healthcare Ministry in June reported that over 630,000 liters of whole blood had been stocked in Russia since January through May 2020.