Researchers Eye Plasma Therapy to Treat COVID-19 | How Does the Patient's Age Affect This?

The use of plasma therapy has been eyed as one of the possible methods of treatment for the coronavirus pandemic. It has been brought once more to the spotlight as a recent study proved positive consequences for both recovery and reducing symptoms for COVID-19 patients. 

A recent study indicates that using convalescent plasma therapy may clear away COVID-19 cases for patients below the age of 60. The researchers also found that it took more than a week for a patient aged more than 60 to hold off the disease. Those belonging to this bracket registered data between 10 to 30 days.  

However, the study composed of a team from both Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Institute for Health and Welfare in Finland didn't have a control group for their research. It is essential to realize that using a control group adheres to the standard in which comparisons are made in a clinical trial.

Convalescent plasma therapy involves infusing recovered blood from COVID-19 survivors. Studies have shown that the antibodies found in the blood will help boost an infected individual's immune system.

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Blood Plasma Therapy: A Stop-Gap Measure

During the early part of the outbreak, the use of antibody-rich blood plasma therapy was given to severe COVID-19 cases in China. Physicians were optimistic about their findings, but for the most part, the approach needs to proceed with further research.

In like manner, the Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas gave the same treatment to 25 COVID-19 severe cases between March 28 and April 14. These findings were then published in The American Journal of Pathology, which stated that about 36 percent of the participants showed a positive outcome after seven days while 76 percent had been made better or were sent home after 14 days. It should be noted that they couldn't find any undesired harmful effects resulting from plasma therapy. 

Their investigation also mentioned that those blood plasma donors had fully recovered and have shown no symptoms of the coronavirus for at least 14 days.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tayo Fasan, a physician from Novant Health, knows how blood is such a precious resource and encourages people to donate, especially those who have recovered from COVID-19. Their institution somehow has managed to have some time interval from infusing the plasma to patients and time of submission from the donors. But he believes that as cases spike up in the North Carolina area, they will need more donors to give via One Blood and American Red Cross.

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What is Convalescent Plasma Therapy and How Does It Work? 

Plasma is acquired when most of the blood's cellular components are removed, which includes the red blood cells and white blood cells. Convalescent plasma therapy is a passive immunization treatment wherein a patient is given the plasma of a post-infected patient. 

In keeping with blood safety basics for donating blood, hospitals will also screen the donors for plasma therapy for other range of bacterium or virus that can cause illness which includes the following:

• Syphilis

• Zika virus

• Hepatitis B and C

• West Nile virus

• Chagas disease

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