Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration in United States has approved the use of plasma from recovered patients to treat seriously ill COVID-19-infected individuals. The transfused plasma must be obtained from donors tested negative for COVID-19 when plasma collection is performed, before day 28 of clinical recovery, and must be collected from recovered patients without symptoms for at least 14 days.
Worldwide, there are currently hundreds of thousands of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 who could be recruited and become COVID-19 convalescent plasma donors after a cautious clinical and laboratorial evaluation. The SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies passively transferred by the transfused plasma might neutralize viral particles and activate the complement system, thus promoting viral elimination. However, it is also important to recognize that plasma transfusions may be associated with transfusion reactions such as allergic reactions, transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) and circulatory overload.
Reference:Langhi, D.M., Santis, G.C. and Bordin, J.O. (2020) COVID-19 convalescent plasma transfusion. Hematology, Transfusion and Cell Therapy. April 17th. doi: 10.1016/j.htct.2020.04.003. (Epub ahead of print).