MU Health Care and more than 100 other hospitals nationwide will join a clinical trial to determine whether plasma from those previously infected with COVID-19 can benefit those currently fighting the virus.
In partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Red Cross, the Mayo Clinic trial is to test the belief that “convalescent plasma” from recovered donors can be infused into current patients to fight the virus, according to a news release from MU Health Care.
“This trial is important because, nationwide, many people are dying from this virus, and we don’t have any proven effective treatment,” infectious disease physician Dima Dandachi, principal investigator at MU Health Care, said in the release.
Plasma infusion is a strategy that has prevented and treated other infectious diseases, “But we don’t know for sure whether it will work with COVID-19,” Dandachi said. “That’s what we intend to find out with this clinical trial.”
To read more on this story, visit our partners at the Columbia Missourian.