Coronavirus: Microsoft’s ‘Plasma-Bot’ Takes Help from COVID-19 Patients to Help Treat the sick ones

Microsoft is launching a self-screening tool for people to check whether they can donate their plasma in the hope of creating a treatment for those who are suffering from COVID-19. The tool is an initiative by the company’s group of people called as CoVIg-19 Plasma Alliance.

The theory is, “when someone is infected with a virus, their immune system produces antibodies to fight it.” And once the infected person recovers, they automatically have these antibodies (capable of fighting against the virus) in their bodies.

Giving the antibodies-infused blood plasma of a recovered person to a newly infected person, who may not have these antibodies, might help the sick person in recovering faster. Apparently, it is not a new invention devised in the last few days. It was used to treat diphtheria in the 1890s and the 1918 flu pandemic. The plasma infusion has helped in treating people with diseases such as chickenpox and measles.

With COVID-19, researchers in the US continue to run controlled studies on plasma infusion treatments for COVID-19 patients. The goal of Plasma Alliance is different from some other plasma-related initiatives. Instead of giving the plasma directly to the patients, they want to create a therapy called polyclonal hyperimmune globulin (H-Ig). It can be created by putting all the antibodies in a liquid form that can be further used to treat the virus. The therapy would have to go through a clinical trial before being approved to treat COVID-19.

The inspection happens through CoVIg-19 Plasma Bot. As per Microsoft, it is available through the web, social, and search channels, asking a series of questions and analyzing if the user is capable of donating the plasma.

If they are found eligible, the platform (CoVIg-19) will get information on where to donate the plasma. It will begin in the US and later expand to Europe.

Not only Microsoft, but there are also many other names attached to the alliance, such as Biotest, BPL, LFB, Octapharma, and Takeda. The leading adviser behind the project is the Bill and amp; Melinda Gates Foundation.