Administering blood plasma transfusions from people who have passed COVID-19 to those who have just been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus could be beneficial in the case of patients hospitalized for complications or in immunocompromised patients. This has been the conclusion of an investigation by the University of New York (USA) in which eight studies and the data of 2,341 patients have been reviewed.
The works had been carried out in several countries such as Brazil, Belgium, the United States, the Netherlands, India, and even Spain. The results indicated that patients who received these doses of convalescent plasma shortly after admission had a 15% lower risk of dying from COVID-19 within a month, compared to those who did not receive this treatment or were He gave them a placebo.
These benefits for treating COVID-19 were greater in patients who were predisposed to serious complications, such as having diabetes or cardiovascular disease. In addition, in the work, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, it was observed that those who had type A or AB blood groups also had greater improvements in their health.
Plasma for immunosuppressed patients with poor prognosis
“Patients with coexisting diseases were the ones who showed the greatest improvement with convalescent plasma, probably because they are the ones with the most difficulties in producing antibodies to fight their infection. The introduced plasma enhances your body’s ability to fight the virus, but only in the initial phase of the disease and before the infection invades your body,” said Andrea Troxel, lead author of the study.
The plasma of people recovered from COVID-19 contains antibodies that adhere to SARS-CoV-2 and mark it so that it can be eliminated
Plasma from people who have already had coronavirus infection contains antibodies, which are blood proteins that are part of the immune system. As the researchers explain, the antibodies adhere to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and mark it so that it can be eliminated more effectively from the body.
At the moment, explains Cristina Avendaño-Solá, one of the principal investigators of the Spanish study analyzed by New York University, the factors that can best predict a relevant effect are the early use of plasma after infection and the use of these transfusions in immunosuppressed patients at risk of poor clinical outcome.
The expert stressed that “convalescent plasma is a low-cost, accessible resource with the advantage that, if the donation is local, it is most likely that the variant against which the donor has made antibodies is the same one that causes the disease in the recipient. However, she also clarifies that the suitability of this treatment will depend on whether there are better alternatives available, which are currently scarce compared to the new omicron variant.
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