The World Health Organization has said that the use of blood plasma has not improved survival from the COVID-19.
The world body advised against using the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from Covid-19 to treat those who are ill. It said that the current evidence shows it neither improves survival and also doesn’t reduce the need for ventilators.
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Plasma is being used as the antibodies of the recovered patient could help treat the novel coronavirus and stop it from replicating and halting tissue damage.
A number of studies testing convalescent blood plasma have shown no apparent benefit for treating Covid-19 patients who are severely ill.
Earlier a US-based trial was halted in March after it was found that plasma was unlikely to help mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients.
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The WHO said in a statement that the method was also costly and time-consuming to administer.
It further added that a panel of international experts made a strong recommendation against the use of convalescent plasma in patients with non-severe illness and against its use in patients with severe and critical illness except in the context of a randomized controlled trial. (AW)
