E-Paper
Covid-19: Punjab’s first patient treated with plasma therapy recovers
Punjab’s first coronavirus patient to be administered convalescent plasma therapy was discharged from hospital on Thursday after he fully recovered from the disease.
Punjab’s first coronavirus patient to be administered convalescent plasma therapy was discharged from hospital on Thursday after he fully recovered from the disease.
The 42-year-old man from Moga was admitted to the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH), Faridkot, on June 9 with moderate symptoms and respiratory issues a day after he tested positive for Covid-19. He was given the plasma therapy on June 13.
GGSMCH principal Dr Deepak Bhatti said the patient was given oxygen therapy as he was having problem in breathing in the beginning and gradually his condition improved with the help of plasma therapy and supportive care.
Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur, who is also adviser to the state Covid-19 response and procurement committee, said the patient’s successful recovery is very encouraging and now more patients will be treated with this therapy.
“The Faridkot medical college is one of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-approved centres for convalescent plasma therapy trials on Covid-19 patients who require oxygen therapy. It was approved as one in the second week of May. The first patient donated plasma on May 28 and the first one to become eligible to get the therapy was enrolled on June 13,” he said.
More donors are required to come forward for plasma therapy clinical trials, he said, adding that they will counsel the cured patients to encourage them to donate blood, he added.
THE THERAPY
Convalescent plasma therapy involves taking antibodies from cured Covid-19 patients and injecting them in the blood of patients suffering from the disease. The transfusion of plasma is carried out through a machine which separates the plasma from the blood which is then retransferred into the donor. The plasma thus obtained is injected into a sick person. A donor supplies 300-500 ml of plasma and the transfusion process takes 60-90 minutes.
