Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has treated 1,883 COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma in Qatar, said Medical Director of Communicable Disease Center, Dr. Muna Al Maslamani adding that the therapy may help people recover from COVID-19.
“It may lessen the severity or shorten length of the disease,” she told The Peninsula. Dr. Al Maslamani also indicated that administrating convalescent plasma early in the course of disease has shown improved survival and that the success level of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 patients is varied from one patient to another.
Convalescent plasma therapy uses blood from people who have recovered from the virus infection to help others recover. “Blood donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19 has antibodies to the virus that causes it. The donated blood is processed to remove blood cells, leaving behind liquid (plasma) and antibodies. These can be given to people with COVID-19 to boost their ability to fight the virus,” said Dr. Al Maslamani.
According to Dr. Al Maslamani, evidence from clinical trials supports the practice of administering convalescent plasma early in the disease course and using plasma with higher levels of SARS-CoV2-specific antibodies. “Early administration, good titer – randomised trials using convalescent plasma early in the course of disease have shown improved survival,” said Dr. Al Maslamani.
Early administration, insufficient titer is a randomised trial from India with moderate disease who were randomly assigned to receive usual care with or without two units of convalescent plasma did not show a benefit in a composite outcome of survival or disease improvement/stabilisation. Dr. Al Maslamani said that there are two potential reasons that late administration is less likely to be effective.
“Most individuals will have begun to mount their own antibody response by 8 to 10 days after initial infection, and donor plasma may not boost antibody levels above the endogenous response,” she said. “As the disease progresses, severe manifestations may be more strongly associated with the inflammatory response to the virus rather than the virus itself,” she added. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised convalescent plasma therapy for people with COVID-19.
The FDA is allowing its use during the pandemic because there’s no approved treatment for COVID-19. Explaining about the eligibility to donate plasma, Dr. Al Maslamani said that a person can donate plasma when he/she complete the two-week period after discharge from hospital or isolation.
“You must make sure that you have completely recovered from the disease and that you have not had any symptoms for 14 days after leaving the health isolation or after the last negative result of the PCR testing from nose and throat, or after 28 days after contracting the disease,” she said.
In addition to the basic criteria and conditions plasma donors should have been infected and cured with COVID-19 virus, only men above the age of 18 years, body weight not less than 50 kg, those who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, can donate.
Donors can donate a second time if they are willing to do so, be in good health on the day of the donation, physical rest and getting plenty of sleep is advised before one comes to donate. Any person eligible to donate plasma for COVID-19 patients can contact the team from Communicable Disease Center on 4025400.
Dr. Al Maslamani also urged the public to stay safe. “With increasing number of cases please stay safe; it’s important to remember that most people who have COVID-19 recover quickly. But the potentially longlasting problems from COVID-19 make it even more important to reduce the spread of the disease by following precautions such as wearing masks over nose and mouth, maintaining social distancing, avoiding crowds and keeping hands clean,” she said.
