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Kerala waits for drug controller nod for plasma therapy for Covid-19 patients
Kerala will be the first state to carry out the test called convalescent plasma therapy against the coronavirus disease in the country.
With Kerala getting the nod from the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) to explore plasma therapy to treat Covid-19 patients, medical experts in the state are upbeat and are waiting for the permission of the Drug Controller of India that is expected on Friday.
Kerala will be the first state to carry out the test called convalescent plasma therapy against the coronavirus disease in the country.
The test involves transfusion of specific components from the blood of people recovered from Covid 19—at least 14 days after their complete recovery—into those who have contracted the disease virus or are in the high-risk category.
The recovered person’s plasma, which is rich in antibodies, is expected to help the patient, said experts adding they are getting encouraging reports from South Korea and the United States in this regard.
“We have to get blood transfusion norms relaxed. Normally a healthy person is allowed to give blood for transfusion and other tests but here a person who recently recovered will have to bleed,” Dr Asha Kishore, director of Sree Chithira Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), the nodal agency to conduct the test, said.
The donor has to be a patient who has fully recovered and shown no symptoms of the infection after 14 days isolation after getting discharged from the hospital, she said adding the blood group of both will have to be compatible.
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This can also be tried in people who are at high risk of contracting the virus. She said her institute and four medical college hospitals in the state were fully equipped to conduct the plasma therapy.
Dr Anoop Kumar, a member of the Kerala Medical Taskforce and also the head of the critical care unit of a leading private hospital in Kozhikode, explained that as a patient grapples with the virus, the body produces antibodies to attack it.
These antibodies, proteins that are secreted by immune cells called B lymphocytes, are found in plasma or liquid part of the blood that helps in clotting when needed and supports immunity, Dr Kumar said.
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“Even after recovery, these anti-bodies will remain in their blood waiting to guard any recurrence of infection. When these antibodies are injected into another person with the disease they recognise the enemy virus and kills them,” he said.
He along with his friend Dr G Arun Kumar of the Manipal Institute of Virology was first to detect nipah virus in north Kerala two years ago.
“Usually one person’s donation of plasma can produce two doses of blood component needed for transfusions. A patient needs one transfusion to get enough antibodies to fight the virus. This is not like blood donation. Only plasma is collected. A healthy person can donate 800 ml of plasma that can be treated at least four,” he said.
Meanwhile, 12 fresh cases were reported in Kerala taking the total number of infected to 357.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it was a proud moment for the state as 13 people, including eight foreigners, were discharged on Thursday which also marked the 100 days since the virus was first detected in the state.
