What is convalescent plasma? Know all about the therapy touted by Trump to fight COVID-19

US President Donald Trump anunced that Food and Drug ministration (FDA) has given emergency use authorisation for convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients. FDA has issued guidance to provide recommendations to health care providers and investigators on ministration and study of investigational convalescent plasma.

Trump told a news conference on August 23 that plasma rapy has proven to reduce mortality by 35 per cent, referring to a study conducted by Mayo Clinic. He said that over 100,000 Americans have alrey enrolled to receive this treatment, and FDA, MIT, Harvard, and Mount Sinai hospital have also found convalescent plasma to be a “very effective method of fighting this horrible disease.”

What is Convalescent plasma?

Convalescent plasma is antibody-rich plasma, a yellowish liquid that makes up about half your blood volume, collected from people who have recovered from a virus, in this case, COVID-19. convalescent plasma is n transfused into body of a patient still battling disease. 

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Safety and Efficacy

Doctors have been using plasma rapy to help patients fight diseases for over 100 years and method has recently been used for treatment of patients infected from SARS, Ebola, and H1N1 among ors. efficacy of plasma treatment for COVID-19 has t been established yet and is currently undergoing clinical trial.

However, it is being regulated as an investigational product in United States and FDA has given d to use it on patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections. FDA said that convalescent plasma has t yet been shown to be safe and effective as a treatment for COVID-19, providing pathways for ministering or studying its use.

FDA has provided pathways for ministering or studying use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma which include clinical trials, expanded access, and single-patient emergency IND. It is facilitating access to COVID-19 convalescent plasma for use in patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections through process of patient’s physician requesting a single patient emergency IND.

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