A Chinese woman who contracted Covid-19 experienced a rapid recovery after being treated with mesenchymal cord tissue stem cells.
A 65-year-old Chinese woman who fell seriously ill after being infected with the coronavirus made a startling recovery after being given stem cell theraphy, according to a new study by Chinese scientists. The patient had been fighting for her life in the intensive care unit at Baoshan Hospital in Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, for nearly two weeks after contracting Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. But according to a paper published by a team of researchers from Kunming University led by Dr Hu Min, just four days after being given her first shot of umbilical cord stem cells, the woman was back on her feet and able to walk. Although it was one case it could be very important and inspire clinical practices in treating critically ill Covid-19 patients. The treatment may be an ideal choice to be used or combined with other immune modulating agent, it said. The Yunnan case is one of 14 trials using stem cells to treat coronavirus patients in China. While the technology remains controversial, there is hope among health authorities and medical professionals that it could become a lifesaver for critically ill patients. The patient in Kunming arrived in the city on January 21 on a flight from Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province and the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. A week later she fell ill with a mild fever, fatigue and coughing, so went to a public hospital where she tested positive for Covid-19.