By Thursday, 919 patients cured of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, including 450 from Central China's Hubei province, the outbreak center, had donated their blood plasma -- about 294,450 milliliters for research and treatment, said Zhou Qi, deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, on Friday.

The plasma provides valuable data, materials and information for the treatment of other patients and the research and development of antibodies and immunoglobulin, Zhou said.

He said that the plasma of recovered patients has been used in clinical treatment and it has achieved a good effect.

Since the plasma treatment has been written into the clinical guidelines on the disease on Feb 5, patients who have been cured of the disease are encouraged to donate their plasma, he added.