Is Convalescent Donors' Plasma Effective Against Ebola Virus Disease?

Limited evidence from the 1990s suggests that whole blood or serum from patients who have survived Ebola virus disease (EVD) might be an effective adjunctive therapy to reduce EVD-related mortality. To further explore this possibility, researchers enrolled symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed EVD in a nonrandomized trial at an Ebola treatment unit (ETU) in Guinea.

Participants received two consecutive infusions of ABO-compatible convalescent plasma (obtained from separate convalescent donors) on the day of EVD diagnosis or up to 2 days later. A historical-control group, seen at the same ETU during the previous 5 months, received only standard EVD treatment. Upon diagnosis, blood samples from both groups were screened for Ebola viru…