The feasibility of convalescent plasma therapy in severe COVID-19 patients: a pilot study

Kai Duan; Bende Liu; Cesheng Li; Huajun Zhang; Ting Yu; Jieming Qu; Min Zhou; Li Chen; Shengli Meng; Yong Hu; Cheng Peng; Mingchao Yuan; Jinyan Huang; Zejun Wang; Jianhong Yu; Xiaoxiao Gao; Dan Wang; Xiaoqi Yu; Li Li; Jiayou Zhang; Xiao Wu; Bei Li; Yanping Yu; Wei Chen; Yan Peng; Yeqin Hu; Lianzhen Lin; Xuefei Liu; Shihe Huang; Zhijun Zhou; Lianghao Zhang; Yue Wang; Zhi Zhang; Kun Deng; Zhiwu Xia; Qin Gong; Wei Zhang; Xiaobei Zheng; Ying Liu; Huichuan Yang; Dongbo Zhou; Ding Yu; Jifeng Hou; Zhengli Shi; Saijuan Chen; Zhu Chen; Xin-xin Zhang; Xiaoming Yang

In the present study, no severe adverse effects were observed. One of the risks of plasma transfusion is the transmission of the potential pathogen. Methylene blue photochemistry was applied in this study to inactivate the potential residual virus and to maintain the activity of neutralizing antibodies as much as possible, a method known to be much better than ultraviolet C light (25) . No specific virus was detected before transfusion. Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) was reported in an Ebola virus disease woman who received CP therapy (26) . Although uncommon in the general population receiving plasma transfusion, this specific adverse reaction is worth noting, especially among critically illed patients experiencing significant pulmonary injury (27) .