During the recent Covid-19 pandemic, one of the several forms of treatment that was explored by doctors is Convalescent Plasma Therapy or CPT for short. CPT is not a new concept and has been used to treat other viral infections in the past, but the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the media attention it gathered, brought into focus all forms of treatment including CPT. In this article, we will understand more about this and plasma therapy in general.
The blood is not a homogenous fluid as many would imagine. It’s a complex compound with various components:
Convalescent is the term given to a person who is recovering or convalescing from an illness, injury, infection, surgery, procedure, therapy, treatment or any health situation. The recovery period is called convalescence. The plasma of such a person is rich in antibodies that were produced by the body, in order to fight the pathogen concerned (virus or bacteria).
Interestingly, these antibodies can be harvested from a convalescent’s plasma and injected into the blood of another person suffering from the same infection. The latter’s body may not be able to produce enough antibodies to fight the infection, due to various reasons. So, by harvesting antibodies from another person who has successfully fought the infection and injecting it here, this person’s immunity is boosted. This approach and procedure are what’s called Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT).
CPT was first used during the Spanish pandemic of influenza A pneumonia in 1918-1920. Thereafter it has been used to treat various viral infection outbreaks across the world.
Plasma has a very long shelf life of nearly 10 years if refrigerated and preserved in a sterile environment. This gives hope to patients and the medical fraternity, who require large quantities of convalescent plasma to treat viral outbreaks that occur all the time. Also, unlike red-blood-cells which require some time to regenerate after an instance of blood donation (so there must be a 1-month gap between 2 blood donations), plasma regenerates quickly from the food and water we consume. So, convalescents and healthy people can safely donate blood as often as twice a week.
During the procedure, the convalescent donates blood. The blood is then centrifuged after the addition of an anticoagulant to prevent clotting. The centrifuging helps separate plasma from the RBC, WBC and platelets. The plasma is collected separately while the other components are injected back into the donor. The procedure is 100% safe for the donor. During CPT, the bottle of plasma is hung upside down and the plasma is passed into the recipient’s blood, drop by drop, similar to any intravenous injection (or ‘drips’).
While plasma donations are safe for the donor, there are some restrictions, which means, not every convalescent can donate plasma. This is for the safety and health of the recipient.
Measles, mumps, polio and HIV
Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, or genetic emphysema, a hereditary disease which manifests as life-threatening liver disease in children as well as adults and lung disease in adults alone.
Hereditary Angioedema, caused by a missing C1 esterase inhibitor protein (C1-INH). Patients suffer from edema or severe swelling which can become fatal if the airways become blocked.
Coagulation Factors are used to treat bleeding or blood-clotting disorders such as:
Immune Globulins are used to treat auto-immune disorders such as:
Plasma proteins are also used to treat patients recovering from burns, shock, trauma, major surgery, animal bites, RH incompatibility, hepatitis, paediatric HIV, liver conditions and organ transplant.
CPT is a popular form of treatment and offers hope to patients of several ailments or health conditions as listed above. For some recipients however, there is a small risk of:
In-spite of the above risks, plasma therapies are very popular, and in countries like the US, healthy people and convalescents alike are encouraged to donate plasma as often as possible. It is even necessary, as large quantities of plasma are required to treat patients with the above conditions.
If you would like to donate plasma, get in touch with a reputed hospital in your vicinity. Remember, plasma can be stored for long and used whenever the need arises.
Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.
Chennai – 044 4000 6000 • Trichy – Cantonment – 0431 4077777 • Trichy – Heartcity – 0431 4003500 • Trichy – Tennur – 0431 4022555 • Hosur – 04344 272727 • Salem – 0427 2677777 • Tirunelveli – 0462 4006000 • Bengaluru – 080 6801 6801
