Seven Hills Hospital carries out plasma transfusion on Covid-19 patient

A day after a coronavirus patient received the first convalescent plasma transfusion at Lilavati Hospital, the Seven Hills Hospital in Marol became the first civic-run

A day after a coronavirus patient received the first convalescent plasma transfusion at Lilavati Hospital, the Seven Hills Hospital in Marol became the first civic-run to run the clinical trial on its patient on Sunday.

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The civic-run hospital conducted the convalescent plasma transfusion on an admitted patient after getting the extracted plasma from Nair Hospital. At present, BYL Nair hospital is the only hospital which has got the approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for the extractions of the component from donated blood.

“The patient is critical and it is too early to comment on the health of the patient as he needs observation. Depending on the condition of the patient, we will decide if he needs a further dosage of plasma,” said Dr Mohan Joshi, in-charge of Seven Hills Hospital.

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.

Meanwhile, the 53-year-old patient who received the first 200ml of plasma on Saturday at Lilavati Hospital is still critical and on ventilator though his oxygen intake has improved slightly. He has developed a blood infection and is kept on a high dosage of antibiotics. Thus, the hospital had to postpone the other two dosages for a day.

“We have held the next two dosages for a day. If his condition improves tomorrow, we will transfuse the remaining 400ml of plasma together,” said an official from Lilavati Hospital.

Kerala was the first state to start convalescent plasma therapy with the approval from the ICMR.

Meanwhile, to stop any possible spread of Covid-19, Seven Hills Hospital has installed Ozone Disinfection Chamber. “All the people who are coming into the hospital will have to work through the channel. These chambers have disinfectants which spray chemicals that are enough to kill the virus on the cloths and the upper layer of the body,” said Dr Joshi.