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Volume 8 Issue 4 (April, 2020)

Review Articles

Convalescent Plasma Therapy for Coronavirus in Critically ill Patients
Shilpa Sunil Khanna, Mohd Abdul Qayyum, Rashmi Banjare Patley, Abhishek Patley, Dhananjay Rathod, Rishabh Shah, Rahul Vinay Chandra Tiwari

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has spurred a global health crisis. To date, there are no proven options for prophylaxis for those who have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, nor therapy for those who develop COVID-19. Immune (i.e. “convalescent”) plasma refers to plasma that is collected from individuals, following resolution of infection and development of antibodies. Passive antibody administration through transfusion of convalescent plasma may offer the only short-term strategy to confer immediate immunity to susceptible individuals. Convalescent plasma has also been used in the COVID-19 pandemic; limited data from China suggest clinical benefit, including radiological resolution, reduction in viral loads and improved survival. Globally, blood centers have robust infrastructure to undertake collections and construct inventories of convalescent plasma to meet the growing demand. Nonetheless, there are nuanced challenges, both regulatory and logistical, spanning donor eligibility, donor recruitment, collections and transfusion itself. Keywords Coronavirus, Convalescent plasma therapy, neutralizing antibodies.

 
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