Plasma therapy when administered at the right time can help patients in their fight against the novel coronavirus. Of the 125 COVID-19 patients who underwent convalescent plasma transfusion (CPT) in the State, 60% have recovered.
U.S. Vishal Rao, associate dean at HCG Hospitals and programme director of Mission COPE and who is part of the working group for plasma donation, said that an analysis of the 125 patients done so far has indicated that the therapy is yielding good results. “We wanted to analyse how patients are doing, and the recovery rate. We want to present these results to the government and ensure that there is more awareness of CPT,” he said.
Plasma banks
Demand outstrips supply especially in other parts of Karnataka. So far, 375 COVID-19 patients have undergone plasma therapy in Karnataka. A majority are from Bengaluru. “There is a need to ensure that we have a plasma bank in each district so that critical patients benefit from this treatment and we can save lives. This will ensure that the patients who have COVID 19- recover faster and help reduce the burden on the healthcare system,” Dr. Rao said.
CPT involves administering the plasma of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 to a patient suffering from the disease. The antibodies developed in the former aid in the recovery of the latter.
Jayaraj, Joint Director, Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society, said that in an attempt to ensure that more people who have recovered from COVID-19 donate their plasma, the State government is counselling patients at the time of discharge and appealing to them to donate plasma. It has also decided to provide ₹5,000 for recovered patients who come forward to donate plasma.
According to the guidelines formulated by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, those who donate their plasma should be between 18 and 60 years; must weigh over 50 kg; and should not have given birth.
Of the 3.98 lakh people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the State, as many as 2.92 lakh have been discharged.
