Does plasma therapy work in COVID-19 treatment?
With no approved antiviral treatment plan for the deadly COVID-19 infection, plasma therapy is an experimental approach to treat COVID positive patients and help them recover faster. The therapy, considered to be safe and promising has been used in several places across India and the world. Plasma banks have also been set up across Delhi, with recovered COVID patients encouraged to actively come forward and donate plasma. It can be done frequently as it does not pose any danger or make a person deficient in any manner. Frozen plasma can also be stored and used for a longer gap. However, while plasma therapy has good success rates, not every COVID patient can donate plasma.
How does plasma therapy help?
A recovered COVID-positive patient is considered to gain enough proteins, called antibodies in his/her blood which helps the body fight infection from the root. The plasma cells, which contain antibodies, could hence help those critically ill gain antibodies to fight the COVID-19 infection when their body is unable to do so and hence, speeding up recovery rate especially for those who belong to a high-risk category, or older or are immuno-compromised.
Studies say that convalescent plasma therapy can help provide short-term immunity against the COVID-19 virus as well.
Who can or cannot donate?
Even though the therapy is extremely effective, plasma donation has a certain limitation as to who can or cannot donate. Only people who weigh over 50 kilograms, women who are nulliparous (have not had children), have healthy haemoglobin levels, do not have pre-existing health conditions such as diabetes, uncontrolled blood pressure levels are allowed to donate plasma. Individuals who are found to be positive for HIV, hepatitis B, C, E, and HTLV-1, undergoing cancer are also asked to refrain from the donation.
Here's why
Plasma donation in women can be extremely complex since women who bear a child or have low haemoglobin levels aren't allowed to donate plasma. Experts say that during pregnancy, the body develops antibodies to human leukocyte antigen (HLA), which can cause complications, such as TRALI, a kind of transfusion reaction and increase the risk of severe lung damage and scarring, which is already a feared prognosis of a COVID infection. Similarly, for those with pre-existing medical conditions, compromised immunity and infection risk could make it problematic for them to donate plasma.
What is the procedure for plasma donation?
A potential plasma donor, who has recovered from COVID-19 (and is symptom-free for 14 days) can deposit plasma at a certified bank once specific testing and requirements are met with. Currently, people between the ages of 18-50 are being allowed to donate. Plasma collected from one person is then transfused onto two COVID patients. Unlike regular blood donation, plasma donors tend to donate about a half litre of blood for the transfusion with the help of a single-use disposable apheresis kit. Once the plasma donation is done for, the machine only retains the plasma and return all red blood cells and other components of blood. The individual ends up gaining plasma in the blood 24-72 hours post the drive and experiences little to no stress.