What is Plasma Therapy: A possible treatment for coronavirus?

What is Plasma Therapy: A possible treatment for coronavirus?

WHAT IS CONVALESCENT PLASMA THERAPY?

The convalescent plasma therapy aims at using antibodies from the blood of a recovered Covid-19 patient to threat those critically affected by the virus. The therapy can also used to immunise those at a high risk of contracting the virus -- such as health workers, families of patients and other high-risk contacts.

This therapy's concept is simple and is based on the premise that the blood of a patient who has recovered from Covid-19 contains antibodies with the specific ability of fighting novel coronavirus. . The theory is that the recovered patient's antibodies, once ingested into somebody under treatment, will begin targetting and fighting the novel coronavirus in the second patient.

The convalescent plasma therapy is akin to passive immunisation as, according to researchers, it is a preventive measure and not a treatment for the Covid-19 disease.

HOW CONVALESCENT PLASMA THERAPY WORKS?

The convalescent plasma therapy uses antibodies developed within an infected person while he/she is infected with the novel coronavirus.

These antibodies are developed in a patient as part of the body's natural immune response to a foreign pathogen or in this case, the novel coronavirus. These antibodies are highly specific to the invading pathogen and so, work to eliminate the novel coronavirus from the patient's body.

Once the patient has recovered, they donate their blood so that their antibodies can be used to treat other patients. The donated blood is then checked for the presence of any other disease-causing agents such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV etc.

If deemed safe, the blood is then taken through a process to extract 'plasma', the liquid part of the blood that contains antibodies. The antibody-rich plasma, once extracted, is then ingested into the body of a patient under treatment.

Speaking about the process the plasma therapy involves, John Hopkins University immunologist Arturo Casadevall, who is spearheading a project to use the therapy, has said, "The concept is simple. Patients who recover from an infectious disease often produce antibodies that can protect against later infections with the same microbe. This immunity can be transferred by giving serum to those at risk of infection."

In a study co-authored by Casadevall and immunologist Liise-anne Pirofski, the authors write that for effective therapy "a sufficient amount of antibody must be administered. When given to a susceptible person, this antibody will circulate in the blood, reach tissues, and provide protection against infection. Depending on the antibody amount and composition, the protection conferred by the transferred immunoglobulin [antibodies] can last from weeks to months."