Experts from the World Health Organization recommended on Tuesday not to use plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 as a method of treating patients with the disease, saying there is no evidence that expensive and time-consuming blood transfusions are effective in preventing serious illness or death.

According to the WHO, based on the results of 16 trials involving more than 16,000 patients with varying degrees of coronavirus infection, guidelines against the use of convalescent plasma (a blood component rich in antibodies) have been published in the British Medical Journal.

In announcing the recommendations of an international expert group, the United Nations health agency said: “Despite the initial hope, current evidence shows that it will not improve survival rates, nor will it reduce the need for mechanical ventilation, and it is costly and time-consuming to manage. .” Regarding the development of guidelines.

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“Therefore, the WHO strongly recommends not to use convalescent plasma in non-critically ill patients, and recommends not to use it in critically ill and critically ill patients, except in the case of randomized controlled trials,” the WHO said.

The expert group stated in an 81-page study that “no obvious benefit to key results”, such as the need for mechanical ventilation-ventilator-or the death of COVID-19 patients.

The WHO previously weighed other COVID-19 treatments, such as recommending some steroids to severe or critically ill patients, and recommending against the use of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.