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

US President Donald Trump announced that the Food and Drug Administration (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 the administration and study of investigational convalescent plasma.

Trump told a news conference on August 23 that plasma therapy 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 already enrolled to receive this treatment, and the 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 the 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. The convalescent plasma is then transfused into the body of a patient still battling the disease. 

Read: Trump Announces FDA Approval For Convalescent Plasma Emergency Use In COVID-19 Treatment

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Safety and Efficacy

Doctors have been using plasma therapy to help patients fight diseases for over 100 years and the method has recently been used for the treatment of patients infected from SARS, Ebola, and H1N1 among others. The efficacy of plasma treatment for COVID-19 has not been established yet and is currently undergoing clinical trial.

However, it is being regulated as an investigational product in the United States and the FDA has given the nod to use it on patients with serious or immediately life-threatening COVID-19 infections. FDA said that convalescent plasma has not yet been shown to be safe and effective as a treatment for COVID-19, providing pathways for administering or studying its use.

FDA has provided pathways for administering or studying the 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 the process of the patient’s physician requesting a single patient emergency IND.

Read: Donald Trump Touts Use Of Convalescent Plasma As A Treatment For COVID-19

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