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Indonesia puts convalescent plasma on pedestal. But how effective is it?
The government recently kicked off a national campaign to encourage COVID-19 survivors to donate their convalescent plasma for patients, despite other countries having halted the treatment following undesired results.
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A nurse treats a COVID-19 patient at Bogor General Hospital in Bogor, West Java, on Sept. 3, 2020. (AFP/Adek Berry)
T
he government recently kicked off a national campaign to encourage COVID-19 survivors to donate their convalescent plasma for patients, as clinical trials are ongoing in Indonesia, despite other countries having halted their trials following undesired results.
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy cited a preliminary study by Saiful Anwar Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Malang, East Java, which found patients with severe cases who received the experimental treatment had a 100 percent rate of recovery and critical patients had an 85 percent rate of recovery.
Without disclosing further details on the study, Muhadjir said "the preliminary study can be used to predict the use of convalescent plasma for COVID-19 recovery as very meaningful".
But clinical trials abroad, as well as experts at home -- both involved and not involved in local trials -- have rather doubted the therapy's effectiveness in critical cases.
Convalescent plasma therapy uses blood from COVID-19 survivors that is expected to contain enough antibodies to help fight off the virus. The blood goes through certain processes, leaving behind a yellow-colored liquid that is given to patients.
The therapy, which appears to have gained traction in Indonesia and even outside trial settings, might depend on whether the donors had enough specific neutralizing antibodies -- not just any other antibodies. Neutralizing antibodies are those capable of binding the virus, preventing it from entering the hosts' cells. The higher the antibody levels and the more severe the illness suffered by these survivors, the better their blood is likely to be for treating others.
Read also: Indonesia begins large-scale trials of COVID-19 blood plasma therapy
