Blood plasma transfusions with high levels of COVID-19 antibodies reduced the number of deaths among some virus patients, according to a new study conducted by Mayo Clinic researchers, making one of the few known treatments for the disease credible.
“Early administration of high-titre convalescent plasma against SARS-CoV-2 to mildly ill infected older adults reduced the progression of Covid-19,” the researchers concluded.
The study was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, accompanied by an editorial explaining how the treatment works, titled “(A Little) Clarity on Convalescent Plasma for Covid-19.”
“I think it is fitting for the medical community to keep innovating and testing therapies for treatment. Realistically, we are still months away from vaccinating a significant number of people, ”said Dr. R. Scott Wright, the Mayo Clinic’s COVID-19 plasma therapy program coordinator, at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Patients who received antibody-rich plasma in the first three days of treatment saw better results, but the treatment was less effective in those who were treated longer and had to be placed on ventilators, researchers found.
“Patients on a ventilator saw no benefit,” Dr. Wright at the Star-Tribune. “It was too late.”
The study assessed 3,082 patients and found a 25% lower risk of death in patients receiving antibody-rich plasma.