Convalescent donor SARS-COV-2-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte infusion as a possible treatment option for COVID-19 patients with severe disease - has not received enough attention till date.

Hanley, Brian; Roufosse, Candice A; Osborn, Michael; Naresh, Kikkeri N

One of the hallmarks of COVID-19 is a reduction in lymphocyte counts, and the degree of reduction correlates with disease severity. Studies have shown a linear negative correlation between peripheral blood CD8+ T cells counts and viral copy numbers in nasopharynx and disease severity. In addition, CD8+ T cells are reported to be functionally 'exhausted'. Currently, there is no proven treatment for COVID-19. Cytotoxic T cells are key to fighting intracellular viruses. In the context of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, a variety of viral infections have been successfully treated using off-the-shelf HLA-matched virus-specific cytotoxic T cells. A similar strategy using convalescent donor CD8+ T cells appears to be the need of the hour and has not received enough attention till date.