A senior Chinese health official has recently called in to treat patients affected by coronavirus Covid-19 through the blood plasma of cured patients, according to the New York Times.
The call to use the plasma (fluid that floats all the blood elements) of these patients was made by state-owned pharmaceutical company China National Biotec Group. Can it work?
Approaching the idea is a logical and promising way to treat sick patients, say Live Science experts, a website with scientific article content.
To explain it more clearly: Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to fight off viruses, bacteria, or other substances foreign to the body. Antibodies are specific to each "invader". However, our body takes some time to produce them. If the same virus / bacterium tries to re-enter the body, antibody production is faster.
People who have been cured of the coronavirus recently called Covid-19 still have antibodies to the coronavirus circulating in their blood. Injecting these antibodies into sick patients can help, at least in theory, in the fight against coronavirus.
However, not everyone agrees. Some experts suggest that such treatments must go through the process of proper laboratory testing before being applied to humans because it is not yet sure if it will have positive effects and furthermore, the extent of side effects is unknown. .
