5 out of 9 plasma recipients recovering from COVID-19, PGH says

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) on Thursday said that five out of the nine patients who received convalescent plasma therapy to treat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have survived the illness.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, PGH spokesperson Dr. Jonas del Rosario said that one of them was already discharged, while another was staying at a regular ward.

The three recuperating recipients are still being treated in ICU, but according to Del Rosario, their condition is improving.

However, the other four recipients of the therapy did not make it. Del Rosario said that these cases suffered from a very critical condition.

“'Yung apat ay hindi pinalad. Talagang malubha ang sakit nila,” he said.

Due to this, Del Rosario said the PGH will shift the focus of the clinical trial of the convalescent plasma therapy to mild and moderate cases,  instead of critical and severe patients.

Del Rosario said that administering the therapy to critical and severe patients might be too late.

The PGH is the only health institution in the country allowed to conduct convalescent plasma therapy to treat COVID-19 patients, according to the Department of Health.

Plasma from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient contains antibodies, proteins produced by the body to neutralize or destroy toxins or disease-carrying organisms, which may help infected patients. -Joviland Rita/MDM, GMA News