The World Health Organization today recommended not to use plasma from COVID-19 patients to treat other infected people, saying that current evidence shows that this will neither improve survival rates nor reduce the need for respirators.
The hypothesis of using plasma is that the antibodies it contains can inhibit the coronavirus, prevent its replication and prevent tissue destruction.
However, several studies that test recovery plasma have shown that this type of plasma has no obvious benefit in the treatment of severely patients with COVID-19. A trial conducted in the United States found that the recovery period plasma is unlikely to be helpful for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. The trial was stopped in March this year.
The WHO strongly recommends not to use plasma in patients who do not have severe COVID-19 symptoms. It also said that even in severe and critically ill patients, plasma therapy should only be used as part of clinical trials.
Plasma therapy is one of the various potential treatments investigated at the beginning of the epidemic, but clinical trials have shown that its benefits are limited.
