Coronavirus: UK doctors trialling use of blood plasma from survivors as possible treatment

Recovered patient’s antibodies would be transfused into new sufferer in bid to boost their immune system

Doctors in the UK are to trial the use of blood plasma from coronavirus survivors as a potential treatment for patients seriously ill with Covid-19.

It is hoped antibodies built up by the recovered person can be transferred to others to help them defeat the virus.

The transfusion would, theoretically, boost the new patient’s struggling immune system by providing plasma rich in the antibodies needed to fight the virus.

Dr Manu Shankar-Hari, a critical care consultant at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital where the trials are being run, said: “What we are doing is to give you instantaneous protection against the virus using an antibody that is developed by patients who recover from the virus.

“So, the hope is that the viral clearance or the taking away of the virus in the body will be quicker by giving this treatment.”

Now, after NHS Blood and Transplant began collecting blood from survivors last week, it is calling for more volunteers to donate.

Some 6,500 have already registered their interest. Researchers are also going through NHS data to find other people who have tested positive for coronavirus. They will be phoned to ask if they will volunteer.

And if the treatment, known as convalescent plasma, is shown to be a success, efforts to find more donors will be scaled up, it said. The aim would be to collect up to 10,000 units a week by the end of May.

Talking about the trials, health secretary Matt Hancock said thousands of patients could potentially benefit.

“The UK has world-leading life sciences and research sectors and I have every hope this treatment will be a major milestone in our fight against this disease,” he said.

But not everyone is convinced it can be successful.

Dr Bharat Pankhania, senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter, told Sky News that while he hoped it would work, he had some concerns.

“This is a blood-borne product so we have got to be really careful about not causing any harm,” he said. “There are things that can go wrong, such as introducing an infection or an allergic reaction.”

Similar trials are already underway around the world including in the US where a major project has already started involving more than 1,500 hospitals.

Along similar lines, the Hollywood actor Tom Hanks, who was diagnosed with coronavirus in March, has donated blood as part of the search for a possible vaccine.