Months have passed and yet COVID-19 pandemic has been ravaging the world as if it’s an unstoppable force!

The race for the holy vaccine is still yet to unfold by the great scientists all over the world, while the discovery is on progress, there are recommendations and conclusions from the experts to use some of the alternative solutions like the convalescent plasma.

COVID-19 survivors who have fully recovered from the virus now have the power to help patients who are currently fighting the infection by donating their plasma which contains COVID-19 antibodies.

In some parts of the world despite the higher number of cases, they are facing a shortage of Convalescent plasma which many believed the best solution to prevent the virus progression on the body.

WHAT IS CONVALESCENT PLASMA?

As stated in the published article by the US Food and Drug Administration, Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood that is collected from patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19 patients develop antibodies in the blood or protective proteins that helped fight the infection. Convalescent plasma is being investigated for the treatment of COVID-19 because there is no approved treatment for this disease yet and there is some information that suggests it might help some patients recover from COVID-19.

In the Philippines On June 23, the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) with support from the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) launched the project: “Convalescent Plasma as Adjunctive Therapy for Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19.”

In an article published on the website of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), it says that Adjunctive therapy is a treatment used to support the main or primary treatment of diseases. As definite therapy for COVID-19 is still lacking, the project aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of convalescent plasma transfusion as adjunctive therapy to prevent disease progression among hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

According to Dr. Michael Ryan, Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Program of the World Health Organization (WHO), the use of convalescent plasma transfusion is a valid approach in treating infectious diseases as demonstrated in previous outbreaks such as the H1N1 influenza virus pandemic, 2003 SARS-CoV-1 epidemic, and the 2012 MERS-CoV epidemic. In a press conference in Geneva last February, he explained that through the transfusion, “you're giving (the patients) a boost of antibodies to hopefully get them through the very difficult phase.”

The DOST and UP-PGH team has started the call for blood donations from COVID-19 survivors last April 2020. The project will run for 12 months.

As of today, there’s no concrete evidence if it’s fully safe and effective, further validations are needed to know if the said treatment can fully heal COVID-19 patients.  A lot of on-going research and studies for convalescent plasma is on the run whether it might shorten the duration of illness, reduce morbidity, or prevent certain death

The world has seen convalescent plasma as a possible aid in decreasing the number of fatalities of the virus. This is the best time for all COVID-19 survivors all around the world to give back to his fellowmen.

Help save lives as a sign of gratitude for overcoming the deadly virus!

It’s now time to do your part!