Plasma, which is rich in antibodies, is to be taken from Maltese patients who have recovered from the Coronavirus to be used as treatment for the same virus, as part of a study Malta is participating in.

Giving COVID-19 patients the liquid portion of blood (plasma), obtained from those who have recovered from the virus, could lead to faster improvement of the disease because it may have the ability to fight the virus that causes COVID-19, the European Blood Alliance has reported.

The initiative is supported by the European Commission working together with Member States, the European Blood Alliance (EBA), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and others.

An open-access database will gather and make available data on convalescent plasma donations and patient outcomes following transfusions performed in the setting of a clinical trial or in a wider monitored use setting.

The initiative is in its initial stages but a government spokesperson has confirmed that, locally, an invitation letter has been sent to a number of recovered patients by their caring clinician.

The study will use what is known as convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19 patients. Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients contains antibodies that may help fight the disease that causes the illness.

Convalescent plasma is obtained by collecting, at least 14 days after complete resolution of symptoms (this duration varies from one country to another), whole blood or plasma from a patient-donor who has survived a previous infection and developed immunity against the pathogen responsible for the COVID-19.

Doctors have been using convalescent plasma transfusions to help patients fight diseases as far back as the Spanish Flu in 1918. More recently, the procedure has been used in patients with SARS, Ebola, H1N1 and more.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in the country since the start of the pandemic amounts to 506, of which 434 patients have recovered.