A new clinical trial evaluating the benefits and safety of plasma therapy, an emerging form of treatment, in COVID-19 patients is underway at the Aga Khan University Hospital. Convalescent plasma therapy involves separating blood donated by previous Covid-19 patients into plasma, a clear straw-coloured liquid, that contains antibodies and proteins that help fight infections. The plasma is then injected into a severely ill patient whose immune system may not be able to generate the antibodies needed to combat the virus. A single donation can potentially treat two patients. Researchers will perform three pre-procedural investigations on each donor to ensure their blood is safe and to check their suitability for apheresis, the process which collects plasma. Like a typical blood donation, the process is painless after the initial prick and lasts around two hours. Once plasma is transfused into a patient, the team will monitor the response to the treatment and assess its effectiveness through clinical and laboratory tests. Informed consent will be sought from all potential donors as well as those receiving the treatment, the AKU said in a statement. “Plasma therapy can potentially help treat patients with moderate to severe Covid-19 infection,” said Dr Natasha Ali, who is part of a team of six faculty members from the departments of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Internal Medicine, working on the trial. “This trial is part of the University’s science-based approach to evaluating novel treatments that can help save lives during this pandemic.”
