The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said Covid patients should not be treated with blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease saying there is no evidence it helps recovery, The Evening Standard reports.

The organisation said despite early signs of promise the current evidence shows it does not improve survival or reduce the need for mechanical ventilation as well as being costly and time-consuming to administer.

The WHO said it had made “a strong recommendation” against its use in patients with non-severe illness and a recommendation against its use in patients with severe and critical illness.

Its recommendations are based on evidence from 16 trials involving 16,236 patients with non-severe, severe, and critical Covid-19 infection.