The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday put on hold emergency authorization for blood plasma as a Covid-19 treatment, accordin to the NY Times.
This comes as top federal health officials including Dr. Francis S. Collins and Dr. Anthony S. Fauci intervened, arguing that emerging data on the treatment was too weak.
In late April, a coalition of New Mexico healthcare systems began asking local COVID-19 survivors to donate their plasma, the antibody-rich blood product used to help treat people hospitalized with the disease.
More than 50 people donated in May, but then the numbers started falling, according to data from Vitalant, a nonprofit blood bank that works with the coalition to recruit donors. In June, 34 people gave plasma to the effort, the data show; in July it was just 29.
The coalition’s struggle is not unique. Across the United States, home to the world’s worst coronavirus outbreak, demand was soaring for COVID-19 convalescent plasma, known as CCP, to keep sick patients alive. But the number of willing donors wasn’t keeping pace, according to interviews Reuters conducted with more than 25 regional hospitals, blood centers and other blood industry players across the country.
Many said they are having difficulty persuading survivors to give plasma, in part because it's a time-consuming process. That has led to a patchy supply that, in some regions, doesn’t meet demand. It raises fears of CCP shortages ahead of an anticipated surge in infections in the fall.
The American Red Cross saw its CCP reserve fall more than 70% in July as it shipped plasma around the country faster than it could recruit new donations, said Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pampee Young.
The New York Blood Center, a regional blood bank with 19 donation centers in the New York area, said its plasma stock, built during the city’s COVID-19 spike in the spring, steadily dwindled in June and July as it sent supply to coronavirus hot spots like Texas and Florida.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) told Reuters it has put on hold an earlier push to build a national reserve of CCP, acknowledging there isn't enough supply for a surplus.
AN IMPORTANT THERAPY
Plasma is the element of blood that carries water, enzymes and blood cells throughout the body. It also carries the antibodies humans form to fight off disease and boost immunity.
With no coronavirus vaccine or cure yet available, infusing sick patients with plasma containing COVID-19 antibodies has emerged as an important therapy.
