Some hospitals in Saudi have begun testing a new treatment that uses plasma from those who have recovered from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to treat existing patients, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Ministry of Health announced in a statement that hospitals in three regions of the Kingdom are currently plasma therapy to treat active cases, although research is still ongoing.
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Earlier, UAE Health Sector spokeswoman Farida Al Hosani said that plasma treatment is one where the plasma of those have recovered from the disease is extracted to treat serious cases. She added that plasma contains some antibodies produced by the body in order to prevent itself against external intruders—such as viruses. The spokesperson noted that the treatment was once used to treat those with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
The Ministry, however, did not confirm if such treatment has caused the rise in the number of recoveries in Saudi. It only attributed the increasing number of new cases to the Kingdom’s massive testing initiative.
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