Sierra Leone Ebola patients treated with survivors’ plasma

In Sierra Leone, donated plasma from survivors of Ebola is being used to treat patients at the 34 Military Hospital in Freetown, the country’s capital

It took quite some time for the trial to be granted approval but the University of Liverpool, which is backing the trial, received approval and the first donations of plasma from survivors have begun.

According to Dr. Calum Semple, the lead researcher, the process is not a new one. As far back as 1976 when there was an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, transfusions of convalescent serum from survivors proved effective in boosting the immunity of Ebola victims. It has also been used on Ebola patients in the US, Europe and West Africa.

Semple thanked “brave” survivors who donated their serum for the research, and he disclosed that this method is cheaper and more sustainable during a possible outbreak than using other drugs being tested currently for treating the disease

One of the serum donors, Yusuf Kabba, who is president of the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola Survivors, expressed hope that the trial will serve as encouragement to Ebola victims in the country to seek treatment, even as the country continues to battle with new cases.

“This is good news,” Kabba said. “We appreciate this work, which we believe will save many lives if its use is not further delayed.”

Source: Ebola Deeply

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