In an attempt to stem the epidemic, Chinese authorities have appealed to patients who have recovered from Covid-19. Antibodies in the plasma of former patients could help fight viral load.
In search of an effective treatment. Chinese health authorities asked on Monday, February 17, those recovered from the coronavirus to donate their blood in order to extract the plasma to treat the patients who are still in serious condition. Franceinfo returns to the questions that arise around this method.
How does this plasma donation work?
The Chinese authorities, who are trying at all costs to stem the spread of Covid-19, hope to slow the disease. The plasma of former patients who had been infected with the virus causing the Covid-19 epidemic contains antibodies that could lower the viral load in severely ill patients. “I would like to ask those who have recovered to donate their plasma. By doing so, they would give hope to the still seriously ill patients”said Guo Yanhong, head of the National Health Commission.
Donors will be tested to make sure they cannot transmit the virus, said Wang Guiqiang, department head at Peking University First Hospital. “Only the plasma will be taken”, he added. “The rest of the blood, including red blood cells and platelets, will be returned to the donors.” This solution should save the Chinese authorities time. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies are engaged in a race against the clock to develop a treatment and a vaccine against this disease which has already infected more than 72,000 people and has caused nearly 1,900 in China.
How effective is this treatment?
The Chinese authorities are optimistic. Eleven hospital patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of the epidemic, received plasma transfusions last week, according to Sun Yanrong, of the Biological Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology. “One of them has already returned home, another has been able to get up and walk and the others are on the mend”, she added. “We are convinced that this method can be very effective in our patients”, insisted Doctor Lu Hangzhou, professor and co-director of the Shanghai Public Health Center.
Clinical trials have shown that plasma transfusions [de malades guéris] are safe and effective.
The call for blood donations also comes the day after the announcement by a state laboratory of positive results in clinical trials carried out in a hospital in Wuhan. The China National Biotec Group assured in a post on the WeChat network that patients who had received plasma transfusions had seen their condition “improve within 24 hours”.
In Geneva, World Health Organization (WHO) director of emergency programs Michael Ryan explained that the use of plasma from former patients “has proven to be effective” for certain diseases. “You are giving the new victim’s immune system a boost of antibodies to hopefully get them through the most difficult phase.” He clarified that antibodies must be administered at the right time and that this practice is not always successful. “But it’s a very valuable method for exploring therapies, especially when we don’t have vaccines and we don’t have specific antivirals.”
Are there any risks with these transfusions?
There is no such thing as zero risk for blood transfusions. Dr Sylvie Briand, Director of the Global Preparedness for Infectious Risks Department at WHO, called for caution, because “with blood products you can transmit other diseases”, emphasizing the importance of following protocols.
“We’re going to have to look at how it is used, which patients are most likely to benefit from its use, [et] at what point of the disease this practice brings a benefit “, added Michael Ryan, at a press conference in Geneva. In Shanghai, doctor Lu Hangzhou explained that the hospital had set up a special clinic to administer the therapy. The establishment selects patients who are ready to donate blood. He will then be examined to see if he has other illnesses such as hepatitis B or C.
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