Coronavirus has now spread in most countries all over the world. In the United States alone, over 160,000 people were already infected while over 3,000 dies due to the virus. As of now, there is still no vaccine nor cure for this viral disease, which leads to assumptions like this. What if the blood of those people that survived with Coronavirus contains the real cure behind the disease?
Experts: What if the real Coronavirus cure lies behind the blood of the survivors?
Just like an epic zombie film wherein the survivors have the cure to the epidemic, health expert from New York, suggested a possible cure from the disease-- and it came from the blood of the Coronavirus' survivors themselves.
As reported via the New York Times, the blood that came from the survivors of the disease contains antibodies. These antibodies are proteins made by the immune system to attack the virus directly. If these antibodies can help a survivor defeat the virus, what if their blood will be used to find the cure? What will be its result?
These are the questions of Dr David L. Reich, president and chief operating officer of the Mount Sinai Hospital. According to him, the part of the blood wherein the antibodies were located are called the convalescent plasma. This blood plasma has been used by health experts across the globe for decades just to treat infectious diseases, including Ebola and influenza.
In today's time, these diseases are equivalent to Coronavirus.
"It's kind of difficult scientifically to know how valuable it is in any disease until you try," said Reich. "It's not exactly a shot in the dark, but it's not tried and true."
F.D.A. approves the plasma testing
There are no current available studies that explain whether the blood of Coronavirus' survivors contains the real cure behind the disease. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already gave permission to the hospital for it to be used experimentally on an emergency basis to treat coronavirus patients and hospitals in New York who will participate.
Aside from that, the testing for the plasma cure will not be done on all patients of the virus. Dr Reich said that only patients that have moderate symptoms like difficulty in breathing would have a heads up on testing.
There will also be a strict test on the plasma that will be used for testing. All survivors must not have any carrying infections like hepatitis or H.I.V. or certain proteins that could set off immune reactions in the recipient.
If the plasma passes the tests, it can then be frozen, or used right away. Each selected patient will receive one unit, about a cup, which will be dripped in like a blood transfusion.
"We think this is going to be an effective treatment for at least some patients, but we don't really know yet," said Dr Bruce Sachais, chief medical officer of the New York Blood Center. "Hopefully, we'll get some data in the next few weeks from the first patients, to see if we're on the right track."
