Supernatants produce extremely high levels of antibodies after infection and vaccination, and there are hopes that their blood plasma transfusions can kill the virus in people whose immune systems are at risk. While two landmark trials known as Recovery and Remap-Cap found that the recovery plasma of people who recovered from Covid did not benefit other patients, a closer look at Remap-Cap data showed that plasma with higher antibody levels could to help the immunosuppressed. The findings prompted doctors to reopen the plasma arm of the Remap-Cap test to specifically investigate whether donating plasma with extremely high levels of antibodies could save the lives of people with weakened immune systems and reduce the time they spend in intensive care. “It’s really important because this is a group of patients who are still dying from Covid,” said Professor Lise Estcourt, head of the NHS Blood and Transplant clinical trial unit and president of the new trial. “This is something that could benefit them.” The vulnerable group includes people with certain immune system disorders and people taking medicines that suppress the immune system, such as cancer patients and organ transplants. About half a million people in England are immunosuppressed. More than 15 hospitals across the UK have agreed to take part in the trial, and more are expected to take part in the coming weeks. The first patient was transfused with plasma provided by the NHSBT at Charing Cross Hospital in London. The plasma used in the test will come from patients infected with Covid and vaccinated against the virus, as this produces the highest concentrations of antibodies with the widest efficacy against different variants of Covid. Donations will come from those who have already donated blood, so there will be no new appeal for donors. The highest level of antibodies ever observed in the reopened test was in plasma donated by a man in his 20s. The tests showed that his plasma contained more than 100,000 units of antibodies per milliliter, about 100 times more than was seen in the first wave of the pandemic. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST If the test shows that the plasma works, it would be a valuable treatment, Estcourt said, because some immunosuppressed people do not respond to the vaccine and “monoclonal antibody” treatments, which are often given to patients, may be less effective against newer variants. . . “It could also be particularly useful in the developing world, where access to more expensive treatments is limited,” he said.
