Coronavirus treatment: Plasma from recovered patients

POTENT ANTIBODIES: China’s state-owned medical products maker is collecting plasma from the blood of people who have recovered from the novel coronavirus after discovering it helped critically ill patients, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday (February 14, 2020). Photo shows two medical personnel work in the patients' ward in Jinyintan Hospital, designated for critical COVID-19 patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on Feb. 13, 2020.

TREATMENT FOR CRITICALLY-ILL PATIENTS: An electron microscope image of the deadly Covid-19 virus. A treatment using plasma collected from the blood of people who have recovered from the novel coronavirus is raising hopes of a cure after Chinese doctors discovered it helped critically-ill patients, according to Bloomberg report.

PLASMA TREATMENT: China National Biotec Group Co., a state-owned medical products maker, has reportedly been using this plasma, which contains highly potent antibodies, to treat more than 10 seriously ill patients since February 8, the company said in an statement on its official WeChat account Thursday night.

REDUCED INFLAMATION: The pharma company claimed that those receiving the treatment improved within 24 hours — with reduced inflammation and viral loads along with better oxygen levels in the blood.

RACE FOR A CURE: Drugmakers and Chinese authorities are racing to develop a cure for the contagion that has so far killed more than 1,500 people (as of February 15), infected over 63,000 and has no approved treatment or vaccine. China has also unleashed a flurry of clinical trials — as many as 77 have been registered — in a bid to curb the outbreak that’s threatening its economic growth.

WHAT IS BLOOD PLASMA? Your blood can be separated into four components, one of them being plasma. The other three are: red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Plasma makes up about 55 percent of your blood. It carries out several key functions in the body, including transporting waste products.

PLASMA’S FUNCTION: Plasma contains about 92 percent water. This water helps to fill up blood vessels, which keeps blood and other nutrients moving through the heart. The remaining 8 percent of plasma contains several key materials, including: proteins, immunoglobulins and electrolytes/When blood is separated into its key components, including red blood cells and plasma, plasma looks like a yellow-tinged fluid. Photo shows an electron microscope image of the Covid-19 grown from a lab culture.

ANTIBODIES: Patients who have recovered from the novel coronavirus pneumonia, naturally generate antibodies that can kill and remove the virus, the company said in the statement, citing unidentified experts. In the absence of a vaccine and specifically targeted drugs, using this plasma is the most effective way to treat the infection and can significantly reduce the death toll.

WHAT IS AN ANTIBODY? Also known as an immunoglobulin, an antibody is a large, Y-shaped protein produced mainly by plasma cells that is used by the immune system to neutralize pathogens such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses.