Those antibodies may cause sick patients to heal faster. The Medical Ethics Review Committee (METC), a legally recognized committee that assesses medical research, has given the green light to this project.
The hospital is looking for men who have been cured from a proven infection, who are free of complaints and who want to donate plasma. They must therefore have performed a coronavirus test of the GGD.
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It is not yet certain that the method can cure patients, says internist infectiologist Bart Rijnders. “We will investigate as soon as possible whether this is really the case,” says Rijnders.
Plasma is part of the blood. “It mainly consists of yellow fluid and proteins, but without the blood cells,” says Rijnders. “The antibodies bind the virus and turn it off. It is not yet certain that it can cure people who have corona.”
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But there is hope, because recent research at Erasmus MC showed that monkeys make antibodies that disable the virus. “And a Chinese study showed that monkeys can only be infected once, so they are indeed protected against the virus by those antibodies.”
According to Erasmus MC, this treatment is safe. “We know that plasma, when properly administered and administered, is a safe treatment method. It is more often used as a treatment for other diseases.”
Only men
The blood plasma is collected from the Sanquin blood bank. The blood goes to a device that separates the plasma from the blood cells. Those blood cells come back through the same needle. Rijnders: “Donating plasma is less stressful for your body than regular blood donation. You notice it, except for the injection in your arm, little of it. You get all cells back and your body replenishes the substances in the plasma. “
Donors must first register by e-mail at Erasmus MC. The hospital says that not everyone can become a donor: only men can participate. This is because the plasma of female donors is more likely to cause side effects.
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