In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration has approved the treatment of some covid patients with blood plasma from ex-corona patients. President Trump announced this on the eve of the Republican convention.
The approval decision was delayed because scientists had expressed doubts and urged more research into the effectiveness of the treatment. Trump said it is a “very effective” treatment. He predicted that a lot more Americans will benefit from the treatment method, although that will depend on the number of people who donate blood.
Although the method has shown promising results, hard scientific evidence is still lacking. Nor is the treatment seen as an alternative to a vaccine. Especially patients under 80 years of age who receive a high dose of antibodies within three days of their diagnosis could benefit.
Health Minister Azar said that 70,000 corona patients in the US have now undergone plasma treatment. At the press conference, Trump also addressed Azar, suggesting that people within his department have been deliberately delaying approval for political reasons.
In the Netherlands, the Sanquin blood bank collects blood plasma from donors with the aim of finding a cure for corona.
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