As the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) moves ahead with clinical trials for convalescent plasma therapy by recovering six more patients, the institute is grappling to maintain adequate inventory as only three plasma units are left now.
Though 187 patients have completed 28-day recovery in the city, only six have come forward to donate plasma to the institute so far.
Dr Pankaj Malhotra from the department of internal medicine, PGIMER, said, “If patients will not donate plasma, the department will not be able to maintain a proper inventory. Those critical patients who really require the plasma will not be helped.”
Dr Malhotra said former plasma donors can be requested to repeat the donation, and if the donor agrees for a repeat donation, it may be scheduled after at least two weeks after the first donation.
At PGIMER, around six patients with Covid-19 pneumonia who enrolled for the clinical trial of plasma therapy have been discharged after recovery.
“A majority of recovered patients are asymptomatic during Covid illness even though they tested positive on the RT-PCR test. Some donors, however, do not agree to donate as it may not be comfortable for them. Patients from adjoining areas like Punjab and Haryana who have recovered should also come forward for the cause.”
{{/usCountry}}“A majority of recovered patients are asymptomatic during Covid illness even though they tested positive on the RT-PCR test. Some donors, however, do not agree to donate as it may not be comfortable for them. Patients from adjoining areas like Punjab and Haryana who have recovered should also come forward for the cause.”
{{/usCountry}}The trial suggests that in order to be eligible as a donor for plasma, they should be more than 18 years of age, males or nulliparous (the medical term for a woman who has never given birth; weighing more than 55kg). Besides, the donor should have had a prior diagnosis of Covid-19 documented by a laboratory test (RT-PCR) with symptoms of (at least) fever and cough, and complete recovery for at least 28 days prior to donation.
The plasma therapy is aimed at assessing the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma to limit complications in Covid patients. In this trial, antibodies from the blood of patients who have recovered from Covid-19 are used to treat severely-infected patients. However, the exact role of this therapy in the treatment of Covid-19 is still debatable and hence, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had decided to conduct a multicentric study to clarify its role.