This is a multicenter prospective randomized open-label clinical trials. Patients with pneumonia due to SARS-CoV-2 will be included and randomized to receive or not convalescent plasma.
Convalescent plasma will be collected by cured patients with previous diagnosis of COVID-19. More specifically, inclusion and exclusion criteria for donors will be the following.
Inclusion criteria for donors:
* age \> 18 and \<60 years
* confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19: PCR on nasopharynx swab or positive IgG
* presence of 2 negative nasopharynx swabs for patients with previous positive swab and presence of 1 negative nasopharynx swab for patients with positive IgG
Exclusion criteria for donors:
* age \< 18 ys or \>60 ys
* other conditions that controindicate blood donation
Collected plasma will undergo all procedures for blood preparation. Plasma will be tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and neutralizing antibody titers.
Patients eligible for the study will be selected among hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV2 pneumonia. More specifically, the following criteria will used for inclusion in the study.
Inclusion criteria for recipients:
* age \>18 ys
* confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV2 pneumonia
* PaO2/FiO2 200-350
Exclusion criteria for recipients:
* PaO2/FiO2 \<200
* need of non invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation
Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive or not convalescent plasma. All patients will be followed-up for 30 days after randomization.
Primary endpoint will be the need of mechanical ventilation, defined as PaO2/FiO2 \<150.
