This new clinical trial, conducted by the APHP, Inserm and carried out at the French Blood Establishment, aims to test the effectiveness of plasma transfusion of patients cured of covid-19 in the treatment of the disease. Some 200 convalescents will be taken from three pilot regions.

INTERVIEW

Pending the results of the official studies on chloroquine, another hope of treatment of covid-19 rests on the plasma of cured patients. A clinical trial supported by the French blood establishment begins Tuesday: samples will be taken in Ile-de-France, in the Grand Est and in Burgundy Franche-Comté from around 200 cured patients. Cathy Bliem, Deputy Director General of the French Blood Establishment (EFS), presents on Europe 1 the principle of this test called "Coviplasm", conducted by the APHP in conjunction with Inserm.

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Transfuse to avoid "severe forms"

"We are going to build up a plasma bank of cured patients, rich in neutralizing antibodies, and we will start to include sick patients the following week, starting on April 14," said the deputy director general. "With this plasma, the idea is to transfuse antibodies very early in the disease, between the 3rd and the 5th day after the onset of symptoms, to avoid the complication that would occur, and therefore the severe forms."

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Donors are patients who have been cured for at least 14 days and who meet the criteria for screening blood donations. The recipients will be "patients who have risk factors for the progression of the disease, comorbidities or advanced age", specifies Cathy Bliem.

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The donation will consist of 600 ml of plasma, making it possible to produce three 200 ml units. "Each patient will receive four units of plasma 24H-48H apart," she adds.

Start of the Coviplasm clinical trial to test the efficacy of plasma transfusion in convalescent Covid-19 patients in the treatment of the disease with @EFS_dondesang and @Insermhttps: //t.co/OGtWCgtJwV

- AP-HP (@APHP) April 4, 2020

The first results of the trial are expected in three weeks.