Pakistanis infected with Covid-19 risk their lives to get blood plasma injections, refreshing a black market that is booming, despite the absence of any medical evidence for the efficacy of this treatment.

Countries have launched several experiments to verify whether injecting patients with blood plasma from people who have recovered from Covid-19 allows more rapid elimination of the virus.

The media is buzzing with undocumented testimonies about the effectiveness of this antibody-based treatment in the blood of those recovering from the disease.

Pakistan itself is experimenting with patients, but some of these are increasingly turning to private clinics or the black market, without any guarantee as to the origin or quality of the plasma.

"This is the result of despair. There is a general desire among all to believe that there is a solution to this issue (the new Corona virus)," said Fariha Irfan, public health specialist in Pakistan.

"It is easy to exploit the naivete of people who do not have enough knowledge of what is happening in the world of science," she says.

Pakistan has officially counted 260,000 HIV infections, 5 thousand and 500 deaths, but the actual number of infections is undoubtedly much higher due to the limited testing.

risk

The Pakistani Hematology Association explains that the information circulating about the plasma contributed to deluding part of the population and members of medical teams that this treatment is now automatically approved.

The association warns that "the use of blood plasma from recovered people may lead to fatal reactions, or even transfer of injuries."

University professor in Lahore Nawaz Murad says that doctors advised him to try plasma therapy as a last resort with his father, who has Covid-19, after his health deteriorated rapidly.

In light of his panic, he resorted to Facebook, where he found a donor within a few hours.

For the sake of time, no blood analysis was done, which did not allow the exclusion of diseases such as hepatitis or AIDS.

"Of course, we had to take a risk. We had no other choice but to perform a blood transfusion as soon as possible. The situation was not normal, but our family was in a terrible state of psychological stress," he says.

The donor provided blood plasma free of charge, but Murad paid about $ 100 to a doctor who came to the house for a blood transfusion. Some hospitals charge up to $ 300 for these operations.

The law accuses Osama Malik of the regional and federal authorities of turning a blind eye to charging unapproved medical centers with large sums for these blood transfusions.

He explains that "the seven centers (officially approved in blood transfusions) cannot meet the demands of the large number of desperate patients."

Murad's health status improved, as his relatives attributed it to this blood plasma transfusion.

Impossibility of monitoring

In the absence of scientific evidence on the feasibility of plasma transfers in addressing the emerging corona virus, some studies have demonstrated the feasibility of these processes in combating other infectious diseases, including SARS and Ebola.

Dawriz Riyadh Syed, who is the Facebook group manager for recuperated patients from Covid-19, says: It provided connectivity for over 750 people and blood donors.

He stresses that the group "provides a central platform for all of Pakistan", noting the lack of confidence among the population in the faltering health system in the country.

A high-ranking official of the Health Authority overseeing clinical trials of plasma treatment explains that it is "almost impossible" for the authorities to prevent blood transfusions outside of accredited medical centers.

He acknowledges the authorities' concern about the growing black market, where brokers sometimes ask for up to $ 900 in exchange for fast plasma provisioning to patients in critical condition.

The group on Facebook banned some members who were trying to sell the plasma, a legally prohibited activity in Pakistan, in line with WHO recommendations.

The Pakistani Ministry of Health did not respond to questions from the French Press Agency. The government, for its part, has allocated a free hotline to receive complaints from people who have to pay in exchange for a sample of plasma.