Plasma Therapy

Plasma Therapy involves transfusion of antibodies from someone who has recovered from COVID-19 into a critical patient.
The therapy is based on the principle that the blood of a recovered patient is rich in antibodies needed to combat COVID-19.
Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins produced by a human body and used by the immune system to identify and neutralise foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses. These antibodies are expected to help critical patients recover.
It is a way of artificially inducing passive immunity.

Blood plasma, a yellowish liquid is a component of blood and consists of protein, minerals and antibodies.
If someone has recovered from COVID-19 there are chances that the person’s body has developed antibodies that helped him/her to fight the virus.
The same antibodies, if infused into a critical patient may provide passive immunity and help in the recovery process.

The Central Government has dropped plasma therapy from Covid treatment protocol.
The decision came on the basis of recommendations of experts from AIIMS, ICMR-COVID-19 National Task Force, and Joint Monitoring Group of the Union Health Ministry citing its ineffectiveness and inappropriate use in several cases.
The plasma therapy has not been found effective in reducing the progression to severe disease nor has a decrease in the fatality rate been observed. The development comes just days after a group of medical practitioners wrote Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan cautioning against the ‘irrational and non-scientific use’ of convalescent plasma for COVID-19.

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