Coronavirus treatment: All you need to know about plasma therapy that is being touted as an effective treatment for COVID19

The deadly coronavirus outbreak continues to spread worldwide with the number of positive cases and deaths rising expeditiously daily. The number of confirmed cases has touched the mark of 3.76 million with no signs of slowing down. Several vaccination trials are underway in different parts of the world. India is pitching plasma therapy as an effective mode of treatment. Country’s top medical research organisation, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), is framing a protocol to jump start this process. But what is plasma therapy and how it can be useful is a common question lingering in most people's mind. Here is all you need to know about it.

Plasma is the pale yellowish liquid part of the blood that holds the blood cells in whole blood in suspension.
It carries protein, minerals, nutrients and hormones to the different parts of the body. It makes up about 55 per cent of the body's total blood volume. Plasma itself is made up of 90% water, the remaining portion is composed of proteins such as albumin, gamma globulin, anti-hemophilic factor, and mineral, salts, sugars, fats, hormones and vitamins. The major function of plasma is to maintain normal blood pressure, supply proteins to different parts of the body for blood clotting and immunity, carry electrolytes such as sodium and potassium to our muscles and to maintain a proper pH balance in the body.

Convalescent plasma therapy is based on the concept of passive immunity, where antibodies of some disease developed in a person are used for treating others.

Plasma in the blood contains antibodies, which helps to fight foreign pathogens. Once they have dealt with a certain kind of foreign element, some blood cells act as a memory cell and store information. When they come in contact with the same kind of pathogens again they identify and defect it quickly by producing the same antibodies.

Dr Soumya V, Senior Consultant - Family Medicine, Apollo TeleHealth adds that Covid19 is a new strain of virus so there is no artificial antibody available which can treat this disease. "The people who fought and recovered from coronavirus might have developed antibodies in their body, which can be a boon for others. Vaccination may take time to develop, but the need of the hour is to treat the patient, which can be possible by using these antibodies by plasma therapy."

Talking about the treatment, Dr Jasloveleen, consultant- Neurology, Paras Hospitals, Panchkula shared that this is not the first time when plasma is being used for treating a medical condition. It was also used earlier during the Ebola outbreak. "Plasma can also be used in treating many conditions, especially when we need to treat autoimmune diseases where body produces antibodies against its cells and plasma helps to clear it via plasmapheresis."

Just like blood donation, there are some eligibility criteria that you'll have to pass to become a plasma donor. You can only donate plasma if :

-Your age is between 18 to 60 years

-Your weight is above 50 kilos

-You should not be suffering from any transmissible or chronic disease

-Your pulse rate is normal (between 50-100 without irregularities)

-Your haemoglobin level is a minimum of 12.5 g/dL.

-Your blood pressure and body temperature is normal

-You should not have got piercing or tattoo in the past 6 months

Dr Soumya clarifies for coronavirus, a person can donate plasma only 8 to 12 weeks after having recovered because only after this period of time antibodies will be developed. "Secondly, the person should be tested negative and should be viral free."

Donating plasma is not the same as donating blood. The two are different and require different techniques.

The blood donation process is simpler as compared to plasma donation. During blood donation, the whole blood is collected in a bag and its components are later separated in the laboratory. However, in plasma donation, blood that is drawn from your arm has to go through a special machine where plasma is separate from the rest of the part of the blood. Only the plasma is stored and the rest of the components including donor’s red blood cells and platelets are then returned to the body along with some saline. Due to its complexity, plasma donation takes more time than blood donation. While it takes only 30 minutes to donate whole blood, plasma donation is an hour and a half long procedure.

The collected plasma should be transfused in the patient's body within 8 hours or it should be immediately frozen.

Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) can be stored for close to an year at -18 degree Celcius. Although plasma can be stored, both the doctors do not recommend it, as storing plasma makes the antibodies present in it less effective.

Here are a few things you must do before donating plasma:

• Drink plenty of water
• Inform if you recently had a surgery
• Inform if you are taking any specific drugs