Man donates blood for plasma therapy study on Covid-19

A man in his 20s, who recovered from Covid-19 more than three weeks ago, on Monday became the first from Maharashtra to donate blood for a study on the use of convalescent

A man in his 20s, who recovered from Covid-19 more than three weeks ago, on Monday became the first from Maharashtra to donate blood for a study on the use of convalescent plasma therapy to treat the disease. Wit-hin three weeks of recovery, a patient develops antibodies that can neutralise the virus. The therapy involves transfusing plasma — a component of the blood — from a recovered patient into a patient fighting the infection, to act as reinforcement for the latter’s immune system. Kerala was the first state to start the convalescent plasma therapy with approval from the ICMR.

HT Image

Following in their footsteps, the blood samples were taken at BYL Nair Hospital and the therapy will be carried out at Kasturba Hospital. “On Monday, we took the sample of the first donor who has fully recovered from the infection. Now, it will be sent to Kasturba Hospital, which will decide on the transfusion,” said Dr Ramesh Bharmal, dean of BYL Nair hospital.

Five other recovered patients, too, have agreed to donate blood for the study. “It is an experiment. Other important factors are the amount of antibodies produced in the body of a cured patient and the extent of extraction possible,” he said.