Blood plasma treatments of the kind touted by President Donald Trump may help Covid-19 patients if given early, but they are not a miracle cure and can be harmful if given in the later stages of the disease, according to a senior health official in Turkey.
Given “when the virus is multiplying and spreading,” plasma from people who have recovered from the virus can be effective, said Ates Kara, a member of Turkey’s Scientific Board who oversaw the country’s response to the pandemic. “But if you’re late, don’t expect you are a game-changing effect. Late administration can even increase complications.”
Turkey has been using various blood treatment therapies on Covid patients, including extraction, reoxygenation, and then reintroduction of blood. But the biggest determinant of success is acting fast, Kara said. Turkish doctors can use plasma and other interventions without waiting for test results to confirm a positive diagnosis, he said.
That gives Turkey an advantage that might not apply in the United States, where treatment costs and health insurance plans can discourage patients from visiting hospitals until their disease is more advanced, Kara said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for Covid-19 convalescent plasma for the treatment of hospitalized patients, and at a press conference Sunday night, Trump praised the move. It came when he lagged in opinion polls before the November elections, and his handling of the pandemic was a key issue.
Some experts accused Trump and the FDA of misrepresenting incomplete test data after claiming that the treatment could reduce mortality by 35%. FDA chief Stephen Hahn later accepted the criticism as “fully justified.”
Turkey has confirmed more than 259,000 Covid-19 cases and 6,139 deaths. The United States, with a population four times as large, has 5.7 million cases and almost 177,000 deaths.
