As per media reports, dated August 24, 2020, American authorities announced an emergency authorisation for doctors to use blood plasma from recovered coronavirus patients as a potential treatment for people suffering from the disease. As of August 2020, the virus has taken over 1,76,000 lives in the US.
The plasma of recovered patients contains powerful antibodies, helpful to fight off the disease faster and protect people from being seriously affected by it. As per US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the plasma may be effective in treating Covid-19. The known and potential benefits of plasma outweigh its known and potential risks. The FDA has already allowed convalescent plasma transfusions for coronavirus patients under certain conditions, such as clinical trials and gravely ill people. Over 70,000 virus patients in the US have received such a transfusion, as per the Washington Post.
But some experts still debate the extent of its effectiveness in spite of the treatment having been used in many countries of the world, including US. As per a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, convalescent plasma probably works, but not as a rescue treatment for people who are already severely ill. So, it still needs to be proven in clinical trials. He said that plasma would likely work much better right after an infection because the body tries to neutralise the infection then. Besides, the limited supply of plasma is also a problem.
COVID-19: DRUGS AND TREATMENTS