Dr Anthony Nsiah-Asare, the Presidential Advisor on Health, on Tuesday confirmed that the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), has approved an investigational convalescent plasma collected from individuals who have recovered from COVID-19.

The plasma, he said, would be used for transfusion in the treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients.

Dr Nsiah-Asare who was responding to some questions at the Ministry of Information’s press briefing in Accra said the FDA after going through the processes, gave the approval on June 15.

He said the Government through the Ghana Health Service was working with all the key stakeholders including the COVID-19 Treatment Team, to ensure the success of this intervention.

Dr Justina Ansah, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service, had earlier at a programme to commemorate the 2020 World Blood Donor Day on June 15 explained that plasma intervention was based on research that patients who had recovered from disease outbreaks such as COVID-19, had a robust immune response to infections.

She said the antibodies in the plasma of recovered patients could, therefore, be transfused to other COVID-19 patients to aid their recovery from the infection.

She encouraged all recovered COVID-19 patients to step forward and donate their plasma to save the lives of other patients in critical conditions.

Doctors have indicated that the treatment would probably serve as a bridge until other drugs and a vaccine became available.