Antibody Rich Plasma for COVID 19 Very Good News

You hear awful news around the clock, day in and day out, about COVID 19.

But I have more good news.

There’s another treatment currently being investigated by researchers around the world. And I like this treatment. it’s been around (for other diseases) for a long time, is very effective, and extremely safe.

The therapy I’m talking about is known as convalescent antibody-rich plasma. The word convalescent refers to someone who is recovering, or has fully recovered, from an infection.

Now, after years of success treating other diseases, research has been done to test this treatment for its efficacy for COVID 19. The results are promising. The success rate on a small number of people is good. Now, the trial is being expanded to larger numbers of people who’ve been infected with COVID 19 and are experiencing severe symptoms.

In this article, I’ll explain:

• How antibody-rich plasma therapy is done

• Why it’s effective

• How it supports and speeds up recovery from COVID 19

• What you can do to decrease your risk of infection
   

Let’s dive in.

How Antibody Rich Plasma Therapy Works

Antibody rich plasma therapy is a relatively simple procedure.

The liquid part of the blood, the plasma, is collected from people who’ve had a virus but have fully recovered. The reason medical professionals collect it from people who have fully recovered is because their plasma is rich with antibodies for the particular virus they had.

Patients who are severely ill with a virus - for example, COVID 19 - are infused with the plasma of people who had COVID 19 but recovered. And that’s pretty much it.

Convalescent plasma interacts differently with your immune system than a vaccine does. When you get a vaccine, your immune system actively produces its own antibodies that will kill off any future encounters with the target pathogen. Because your body has produced its own antibodies, you have what’s called active immunity.

By contrast, because you’ve essentially borrowed antibodies from someone else, you have what’s called passive immunity.

Now let’s take a look at why such a simple treatment is so effective - and so safe.

Why Antibody Rich Plasma Therapy Is Effective

Your immune system, generally speaking, has two main parts. One is called the innate part, which handles your day-to-day immune response to immediately prevent the spread and movement of foreign pathogens throughout the body. The innate response is also referred to as non-specific, because it doesn’t switch on in reaction to a specific disease or infection.

The other part of your immune system is called the adaptive or acquired part. If your immune system is triggered into a strong response to something like a COVID 19 viral infection, this is the part that goes to work. The adaptive immune response is not immediate like the innate one; however, the effect of the adaptive immune response is long-lasting, highly specific, and long-term. This longevity is key.

When the adaptive immune response is triggered, a type of white blood cell called B cells go to work cloning themselves by the millions. Interestingly, B cells make antibodies that destroy the invading virus by working closely with the innate part of your immune system.

Antibodies are crucial. Once they defeat a virus, they have a memory of the virus they successfully fought off. Thus, the next time the same virus invades your body, the antibodies already know how to defeat it, and they’re armed and ready to take on the same virus.

Antibody rich treatment essentially gives your body the experience of someone else’s immune system fighting off the disease - in this case, COVID 19 - without you having to contract the disease. You’re protected from the disease because someone else’s antibodies were infused into your body.

In other words, you receive antibodies with the experience of defeating COVID 19, and this promotes and speeds up your recovery.

But wait, there’s more – antibody-rich plasma therapy has virtually no risk of adverse reactions.

Pretty amazing, isn’t it?

How This Treatment Supports And Speeds Up Recovery

Medical professionals have observed numerous ways the convalescent plasma treatment helps seriously ill patients. It:

• Decreases viral loads. In the case of COVID 19, the viral load is the amount of viral genomes that are detected in a nasal swab from the patient. A high number means the virus is replicating well in someone who’s been infected. Thus, a high viral load for COVID 19 in a patient means a large number of coronavirus particles are present in that person.

• Normalizes your body temperature within 3 to 4 days. In other words, their fever was gone

• Decreases mortality from hemorrhagic fever from about 16 percent to 1 percent. Hemorrhagic fever affects multiple organ systems in the body, including the lungs. The vascular system is damaged, and the body’s ability to regulate itself is impaired.

• Reduces time in hospital by 58 percent. Obviously, shorter hospitalization is good news for the patient. It’s also good for freeing up medical providers, facilities, and other resources needed to treat patients.
   

Antibody rich plasma treatment for other viruses such as flu, ebola, SARS, and MERS has also resulted in significantly lower mortality rates.

All this with no adverse reactions. I know it sounds too good to be true; but, convalescent antibody-rich plasma therapy has been proven safe over decades, for a variety of viral and bacterial diseases.

Antibody Rich Plasma Treatment Has Been Successfully Used For Over A Century

This therapy was used a century ago as a successful treatment for the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. In fact, research showed a reduced mortality rate of 21 percent between 1918 and 1925, when the pandemic was raging around the world.

As well, this therapy was used in the late 1800s to treat patients suffering from Diptheria, a virulent bacterial infection that’s especially deadly for children, along with treating for measles in the 1930s.

This Treatment Holds Tremendous Promise For COVID 19

More good news: this treatment isn’t a 1:1 ratio of donors to recipients. Antibody rich plasma from just one person can be used to treat 3 to 4 people with severe symptoms. If you’ve recovered from COVID 19, you may want to consider becoming a plasma donor.

You’re going to see much more information about this treatment in the days and weeks to come. It’s exciting news, which holds tremendous promise for treating patients who are severely ill with COVID 19. Since at this point (April 2020) there is no vaccine, no cure, and virtually no treatment, this tried-and-true therapy’s success is heartening.

How You Can Lower Your Risk Of Infection

Of course, the best prevention is to make your immune system bullet-proof, so you can feel confident that you’ve lowered your risk for infection from COVID 19.

There are a number of things you can do to give your immune system that extra kick it needs to protect you. In fact, I’ve got a separate video on just that topic. Check it out, and take action now to protect yourself from the risk of COVID 19.

Up Next:-

• COVID 19 and Vitamin D Important

• What I Would Eat If I Had COVID 19
   

Disclaimer: Our educational content is not meant or intended for medical advice or treatment.

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated for quality and relevancy.