During a recent press conference, the governor of the New York State has announced that blood therapy trials begin soon. The treatment method, which involves the use of plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients, could increase the survival rates among patients who face serious complications, reported Fox News.
According to official statistics, New York is the most affected U.S. state, with more than 23,230 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Initial studies infer that the plasma taken from the donor patients, mixed with antibodies and injected in an active patient, will boost the immune system.
While at this stage, it is only a trial, the New York State Department of Health is confident that the method will work well, and it has already sent requests to the best health care agency in New York to work together on the project.
Using Plasma From Recovered Patients to Treat COVID-19
The transfer of blood plasma from recovered patients is not a new form of treatment, as it has been used in the past during the SARs outbreak. Previous research has proved that convalescent plasma has been quite effective during the SARs epidemic, boosting the rate of survival in the case of patients who did not respond to pulsed methylprednisolone.
New York State has been hard at work on the implementation of strategies against COVID-19. Several drug trials are taking place, and the state has acquired 750,000 doses of chloroquine, 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, and 10,000 doses of Zithromax.
In addition, the FDA is researching the potential effects of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, but there is no conclusive data at this point. New drug trials are also being approved across all over the world, as scientist strives to develop medicine and vaccines.
Some researchers also argued that some people might have been affected by the virus without presenting visible symptoms, but were able to spread the disease among other people.
More data will be shared in the following weeks.
