Feasibility of Convalescent Plasma Therapy in Kidney Transplant Recipients With Severe COVID-19: A Single-Center Prospective Cohort Study

Objectives: There are limited clinical data on feasibility and safety of convalescent plasma therapy in kidney transplant recipients with severe COVID-19. The present study was conducted to explore the feasibility of convalescent plasma treatment in 10 kidney transplant recipients with severe COVID-19. Materials and Methods: The prospective observational cohort study was conducted at the Institute of Kidney Disease and Research Centre, Ahmedabad, India. All patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and received antiviral therapy, glucocorticoids, and other supportive care. Two doses of 200 mL each of convalescent plasma with neutralization activity of >1:640 were transfused into patients 24 hours apart following the World Health Organization blood transfusion protocol. The endpoints were the improvement of clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters within 1 day and 7 days after convalescent plasma transfusion. Results: The patients showed resolution of clinical symptoms, and there was a significant decrease in inflammatory markers (P <.05) within 7 days of convalescent plasma transfusion. Of the 10 patients, 9 patients had full recovery and 1 patient died. Conclusions: Convalescent plasma therapy is highly safe and clinically feasible and reduces mortality in kidney transplant recipients with severe COVID- 19. Larger clinical registries and randomized clinical trials should be conducted to further explore the clinical outcomes associated with convalescent plasma use in kidney transplant recipients with severe COVID-19.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that convalescent plasma therapy is effective in improving clinical symptoms and laboratory markers in kidney transplant recipients with severe COVID-19, with a significant improvement within 7 days. The treatment is safe and feasible in this patient population and warrants further exploration through larger clinical registries and randomized clinical trials.