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Will convalescent plasma therapy help to cure the novel coronavirus?

COVID 19 has led to a global lockdown and has taken more than 82,136 lives globally. Still, there are no vaccines or antivirals that have been created to prevent this infectious disease from spreading globally.

According to new research, the concept of convalescent plasma therapy is being considered as an option to treat patients with COVID-19. This latest study suggests that virus-fighting antibodies from people who have recovered from the coronavirus disease COVID-19 may help cure others. This study explains the convalescent plasma therapy, as the plasma collected from recovered patients will produce antibodies that will neutralize the virus, and infuse it into active patients.

According to the latest report published by the American journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the convalescent plasma therapy is currently the most distinct among the handful of options available to doctors worldwide for COVID. The therapy had consistent and safe effects on a small group of 10 patients in China who were critically ill but began to show significant improvements after a single dose. In addition to this, there are also reports which studied the effects of the therapy on severely ill patients with a median age of 52 years. The reports briefed that all symptoms in the ten patients, especially fever, cough, shortness of breath and chest pain, disappeared or improved mostly within 1 to 3 days after CP transfusion. However, the convalescent plasma therapy’s effectiveness as a treatment option has yet to be proven.

Virologists have called for studies into different aspects of the procedure that have been taken up in various parts of the world. If successful, this will help improve the chances of survival of critically ill patients. Additionally, K.T. Rama Rao, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister shared information regarding COVID blood bank on his Twitter account and added that Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Biocon Limited executive chairperson has advised setting up a ‘COVID blood bank’ in Telangana, where antibody-rich plasma from people who have recovered from the novel coronavirus will be collected. He has instructed Health officials to further investigate the situation.

Health department Special Chief Secretary A. Santhi Kumari said they would not leave any stone unturned in order to control the spreading virus. Our news sources have reported that this is not the first time when convalescent plasma therapy will be used as the treatment option. The therapy was earlier used in 1918 for the treatment of H1N1 influenza.

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