Convalescent plasma therapy, if it works, could be a more immediate treatment with a relatively abundant supply source: to date, thousands of people have recovered. The individual, who has been in good health for more than two weeks since being diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus, donated the blood plasma for what is known as the convalescent serum therapy at the Houston Methodist Hospital. Methodist on Friday began recruiting blood plasma donors from among 250 patients who have tested positive for the virus at the system's hospitals. Donors gave a quart of blood plasma in a procedure, much like donating whole blood. In addition to its use in 1918, convalescent serum therapy was also tried during a diphtheria outbreak in the 1920s, a flesh-eating bacteria epidemic in the 1930s and other infectious disease outbreaks.

Source: The Telegraph March 29, 2020 07:52 UTC