PETALING JAYA: Blood plasma is no magic bullet against Covid-19 as the treatment is still under trial, say doctors.

As such, the public are urged to not fall for scams by people purportedly selling plasma of recovered Covid-19 patients as a cure against the virus, said the Malaysian Public Health Physicians’ Association.Its president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said there was no need for the public to race to buy plasma of recovered patients or any other products being touted as a Covid-19 cure.

“There is not enough evidence to say plasma of those recovered can either cure or protect from Covid-19 infection. Although there are some centres overseas conducting research to see whether the plasma can be part of an effective treatment strategy, currently there is no solid evidence yet, ” he said.

The Health Ministry had also announced on April 12 that 12 patients who recovered from Covid-19 had donated blood plasma to be used in a study.

“It’s still being researched. If the public practise social distancing and good hygiene, there is little need to worry about being infected, ” said Dr Zainal Ariffin.

He also warned against adverse effects of introducing substances of unknown origin into the body.

Malaysian Medical Association president Dr N. Ganabaskaran said that transfusing convalescent plasma came with its own risk where it could be a source of blood-borne infections like HIV or hepatitis.

Dr Ganabaskaran said unmonitored transfusion of plasma could lead to acute reactions which could be fatal.

“It can be deadly because each plasma being transferred should be cross-matched several times for compatibility testing between patient and donor, ” he said.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/05/15/docs-warn-msians-of-covid-19-cure-scams