Plasma therapy being tried on two critical Covid-19 patients

Two patients who are critically ill with Covid-19 are being treated with blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease, Greek health authorities said on Thursday.

The tests of this treatment, known as convalescent plasma therapy, are being conducted in Athens, on patients at the capital’s Attikon and Evangelismos hospitals, and are expected to yield results within the next two weeks.

The trial began on April 28 with the extraction of antibody-rich plasma from the blood of patients who have recovered from the disease caused by the new coronavirus and involves the test patients receiving a total of three infusions at two-day intervals.

Convalescent plasma therapy has been tested in the past to treat coronavirus infections, including during the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2013-2016 Ebola crisis.