Doctors have drawn up plans to infuse British coronavirus patients and their carers with blood plasma harvested from “hyper-immune” people who have recovered from the infection in an attempt to save lives. The Guardian reports that the experimental treatment will be directed at patients who are admitted to hospital with pneumonia caused by the virus in the hope that it reduces the number who end up on ventilators in intensive care units (ICUs).
Those in close contact with COVID-19 patients, such as National Health Service (NHS) staff and family members, are also in line to be offered the treatment in an effort to stem the spread of the illness and further reduce pressure on the health service. The procedure relies on the fact that people who have recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies in their blood plasma that maintain a defence against the infection. The aim is to identify those who are “hyper-immune” to the virus and invite them to donate blood for the treatment.
So-called “convalescent plasma” would be given to patients and their contacts in a number of clinical trials that are under consideration with medical funding bodies.
The report says Professor David Tappin, a senior research fellow at the University of Glasgow, has applied to the National Institute for Health Research to run two clinical trials with convalescent plasma. “Start-up will need to be faster than is normal, with most other trials usually taking months or years to get approvals and to begin,” he said.
The trials will look for evidence that convalescent plasma can reduce infections in carers so they can continue their work, prevent patients deteriorating to the point that they require ventilation in ICUs, and improve the condition of those who are already severely ill, to reduce deaths and free up the much-needed ventilators, he said.
“Trials need to be undertaken, otherwise we will not know if this intervention is effective and worthwhile,” Tappin said. “It may not be a silver bullet, or it may work for instance to stem the development of COVID-19 infection in contacts such as healthcare workers and their families, but not perhaps be as effective to treat severely ill patients being ventilated.”
Professor Robert Lechler, the president of the Academy of Medical Sciences and executive director of King’s Health Partners, comprising King’s College London, and three major London hospitals, said the group intended to conduct parallel trials of convalescent plasma.
NHS Blood and Transplant has already begun work to identify potential donors, a spokesperson said.
The report says the UK effort has been fuelled by a grassroots collaboration in the US in which 100 laboratories have joined forces to produce convalescent plasma for patients pouring into hospitals across the country. After receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, doctors in the US are now able to give plasma to patients under compassionate use rules.
[link url="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/mar/29/coronavirus-survivors-blood-plasma-could-be-used-to-fight-infection"]Full report in The Guardian[/link]