Posted on 03/26/2020 12:14:49 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Washington University researchers will soon begin testing a century-old technique that could help combat COVID-19.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the university’s application to test plasma transfusion: isolating and transfusing antibodies from the blood of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to those who are at high risk or are already ill from the virus.
Researchers first need to collect blood from recovered patients, which could take some time, said Dr. Jeffrey Henderson, a professor at the Washington University School of Medicine.
“This can be used on a case-by-case basis if the treating physician feels that it could be a benefit,” Henderson said.
Several people have contacted him to offer blood donations. To donate, the person must have tested positive for COVID-19 and have been recovered from symptoms for at least 14 days, Henderson said.
More than 350 people in the U.S. have recovered from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Researchers will aim to determine how much antibody is present in the blood of recovered patients and how much would be effective for treating COVID-19 patients.
“We’ve done plasma transfusions for a long time. It’s a relatively safe procedure,” Henderson said.
Historically, doctors used the approach to effectively treat patients during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and for a small number of people during the SARS outbreak in the 2000s.
Henderson initially began working with researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Because many doctors are interested in this research, the collaboration has expanded to about 50 institutions, he said.
“A lot of us have seen our jobs very suddenly change from one thing to another, and it has been hectic, but it’s been very affirming in that we have a lot of people dropping what they’re doing and pitching in to help,” Henderson said.
This came out weeks ago as a way to protect medical workers. I’m not sure it provides long term immunity, but it would certainly provide enough for now.
It was ignored by the media because it didn’t go with “OMG, hair on fire” reports.
Please tell me they screen for viruses like HEP-C and HIV.
Goodness gracious back to old Gamma Globulin shots from 50s and 60s
https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/igg-used-polio-protection
I know right. What could possibly go wrong with this plan?
Quacks.
Will Bloodletting (and Leeching) or Trepanning be next?
Actually, it has worked in the past. But the lessons along the way shouldn’t be forgotten. Didn’t the Arkansas prison system, under BJ Clinton, deal in prisoner plasma, with devastating results?
Something like this is what Washington did for his troops in the Revolution I believe. I really did not know they had a smallpox vaccine back then but apparently so. This was in 1776 but in 1726 one Cotton Mather of Boston inoculated two slaves and his 6 year-old son successfully.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/smallpox-inoculation-and-american-revolution-3969759
A quick google search will produce a whole lot of history on small pox vaccine.
Mustard plasters for me thankyouverymuch.
Aren’t they doing this is NY now??
A course of leeches...
"Get the leeches!"
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