Two elderly South Korean coronavirus patients recovered from severe pneumonia after being treated with plasma from survivors, researchers said Tuesday, offering hope in the face of the global pandemic.

Scientists have pointed to the potential benefits of plasma – a blood fluid – from recovered individuals who have developed antibodies to the virus enabling the body’s defenses to attack it.

Since emerging in China in December, the coronavirus has killed almost 75,000 people as drug makers worldwide race to develop a vaccine and treatments for the disease.

Plasma therapy could become “an alternative treatment for patients in critical condition who do not respond to antiviral drugs,” said Choi Jun-yong, a doctor and researcher at Severance Hospital in Seoul, where both patients were treated.

Source: AFP