Moscow doctors note improvements in coronavirus patients after plasma transfusion

Moscow doctors observe significant improvements in novel coronavirus patients after transfusion of blood plasma from those who had already recovered, Moscow Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova said.

"Doctors note obvious improvements in patients after donor plasma transfusion. They see that, in fact, there have been no health complications, no side effects, and the disease takes a noticeably milder course," Rakova said in an interview with the Vesti TV channel.

She went on to say that this kind of treatment is used only for patients in critical condition.

"We will face shortage of plasma, so we hope that the number of those who had recovered, and, therefore, the number of donors, would grow day by day," TASS cited her as saying.

According to earlier reports, Muscovites who have recovered from the illness, are invited to become plasma donors. This type of transfusion is believed to be one of the most efficient measures to combat the disease in the absence of a vaccine, and is being widely used in the United States, Germany, China and other states.

The deputy mayor said the number of patients taken to Moscow’s hospitals with pneumonia had increased by 70% over the past week.

"The number of patients hospitalized with pneumonia has increased by 70% over the week. So, we cannot say that we have any positive dynamics. So far, we see a quite dynamic growth, which cannot but cause certain alarm," she said in an interview with the Vesti news program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.