People work out on a playground in the central Israeli city of Bat Yam amid COVID-19 pandemic on May 11, 2020. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

 
Israeli health ministry's data has showed success in using convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19 patients, especially those in moderate condition.

Based on the data, 10 of 11 moderate patients showed improvement after the plasma treatment.

"The plasma should be given to people in a moderate situation, and maybe moderate turning severe," said Eilat Shinar, director of Magen David Adom (MDA) national blood services in Israel.

Shinar said in an interview with Xinhua on Thursday that out of all the patients, moderate and severe, who were treated with convalescent plasma in Israel, about 50 percent of them showed improvement.

She introduced that the plasma treatment should be given no later than two days after ventilatory assistance to a patient started.

The therapy is based on the presumption that those who healed from the disease have developed unique anti-virus proteins (antibodies) in their plasma, which can help patients fight the virus, according to Shinar.

She said the optimal effect of the antibodies in neutralizing the virus at the bloodstream occurs before irreversible damage is done.

Each recovered person could provide every two weeks a plasma with antibodies for three patients with the same blood type. The donated antibodies could stay for up to six weeks in the blood of the patients.

Although the current wave of COVID-19 is almost over in Israel, MDA said it is looking for more contributions of convalescent plasma as preparations for another possible wave in the winter.