Explained: What is convalescent plasma therapy? How does it help fight COVID-19?

New Delhi, Apr 10: The United States Food and Drug Administration approved Convalescent Plasma Therapy for COVID-19 patients as an experimental treatment in clinical trials.

According to reports, this therapy takes antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from the novel coronavirus and transfuses the antibodies with a person who is critically ill, to help kickstart the immune system.

As many as 11 critically ill COVID-19 patients in New York City and Houston has received this treatment using convalescent care. However, the results have not been reported yet.

Also, this therapy was conducted in several other countries. Taking China into consideration, about 10 COVID-19 patients took up the convalescent therapy. In this treatment, the patients showed improve oxygen levels and a drop in the amount of virus in a person's body as a reaction.

What is Convalescent Plasma?

The Convalescent Plasma Therapy works by transfusing certain elements from the blood of those people, who recovered from COVID-19 with people who are found to be critical due to the virus.

How does Convalescent Plasma Therapy work?

According to the reports, the people who fought the COVID-19 virus, produce antibodies that are capable of attacking the virus. Later, the researchers take those antibodies and proteins that are secreted by immune cells known as B lymphocytes, are found in plasma, or the liquid part of blood that helps the blood clot when required and support immunity.

Once a patient who had the virus and recovered from the jaws of death, that patient develops antibodies that would stay in their blood waiting to fight the same virus again. By injecting those antibodies to another person with the disease, the antibodies would recognise the virus and begins to attack the virus.

Is Convalescent Plasma Therapy working on patients?

According to the FDA, the therapy is not currently known if this treatment would be effective against COVID-19, but news of success from studies around the world are showing promise.

According to a study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed encouraging results when the treatment was conducted on five critically ill COVID-19 patients. All five patients in the study recovered.