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Convalescent Plasma is Effective Therapy for COVID-19 — New Study
The hunt for COVID-19 treatments have been intensifying. Hydroxychloroquine has not living up to President Trump’s hype, forcing researchers look elsewhere for effective therapies. One promising treatment comes from a method developed over 100 years ago.
A study published in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Science has reported exciting results on the use of convalescent plasma (CP) therapy in treating COVID-19. “Convalescent plasma” sounds extremely sci-fi, but the underlying science is quite understandable. To fight off an infectious disease like COVID-19 the immune system produces antibodies that target the disease. These antibodies will stay in the blood long after the infection is gone to stop reinfection.
In CP therapy, individuals who have survived an infection like COVID-19 will donate their blood. Antibody containing plasma is filtered out, and then transfused into a COVID-19 patient. Antibodies from the donor will then help fight off the infection in the receiver. The origins of this treatment go back over a century and it was even used in the Spanish flu pandemic.
This new study looked at ten individuals with severe COVID-19. The group was diverse in terms of age, symptoms, gender, and preexisting conditions. Each individual was treated with 200 mL of blood…
