The World Health Organization has advised against using the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat those who are newly hospitalised with the infection.  The UN health agency said current evidence shows it neither improves survival nor reduces the need for ventilators. 

The hypothesis for using plasma has been that the antibodies it contains could neutralize the novel coronavirus, stopping it from replicating and halting tissue damage. However, several studies testing convalescent blood plasma have shown no apparent benefit for treating COVID-19 patients who are severely ill, WHO warned in a statement. Experts had also earlier made a strong recommendation against blood plasma treatment based on evidence, published in BMJ from 16 trials involving 16,236 patients with non-severe, severe and critical COVID-19 infection.In March, a US-based trial was halted after it was found that plasma was unlikely to help mild-to-moderate COVID-19 patients. The method is also costly and time-consuming to administer, the WHO said in a statement on Monday.