Erasmus MC starts testing blood plasma-antibodies treatment on Covid-19 patients
On Wednesday Erasmus MC in Rotterdam administered the blood plasma of someone who recovered from Covid-19 to a current coronavirus patient. The patient is participating in a scientific study to determine whether the plasma with antibodies will accelerate the recovery of coronavirus patients. This is the first such test done in the Netherlands, NOS reports.
The human body usually makes antibodies against viruses it's infected with. These antibodies adhere to different pieces of the surface of virus particles and thus neutralize it. Antibodies also act is a kind of signal flag, letting defense cells know that they have to clean up virus particles.
The hope is that the plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients will help patients currently suffering from the virus recover faster.
"During the SARS outbreak in 2003 a number of small studies were carried out with plasma from people who had been cured from SARS," research leader Bart Rijnders said to NOS. "Those studies in SARS patients cautiously suggest that administration of plasma with antibodies reduces the risk of death. It may help to shorten hospital stays and reduce the number of virus particles."
