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Thursday, March 28, 2024

German university hospital hopes to treat corona patients with immune plasma

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German university hospital hopes to treat corona patients with immune plasma
German university hospital hopes to treat corona patients with immune plasma

Scientists at southern Germany's Erlangen university hospital hope to help seriously ill patients suffering from the coronavirus disease with intravenously administered immune plasma from donors who recovered from the illness.

Although it's not described as a vaccine, it could provide a meaningful treatment.

Adam Reed reports.

Scientists all over the world are searching for effective treatments for patients suffering with COVID-19 and one lab in Germany thinks its made a positive breakthrough.

At southern Germany's Erlangen university hospital, they hope to help some of the most seriously ill patients with intravenously administered immune plasma from donors who recovered from the illness.

Holger Hackstein, who heads the hospital’s transfusion medicine department, says that the immune plasma "can help patients as it contains virus specific anti-bodies and therefore means are in a position to favourably influence the patient's virus disease." However, Hackstein stressed the therapy, which he hopes to begin on coronavirus patients soon, is not a vaccine.

The aim is to start accepting plasma donations from recovered patients in the coming days, pending analysis that they are no longer contagious.

In Berlin, the head of Germany's disease control centre called the efforts "one of the most worthwhile approaches" and "definitely promising."

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