700+ given plasma from banks in city

nNEWDELHI: More than 700 Covid-19 patients in the national capital have been administered convalescent plasma therapy one-anda-half months since the country’s first plasma bank was set up at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS) at Vasant Kunj.

Two other dedicated Covid facilities — Lok Nayak and Guru Teg Bahadur — that had set up banks will now also provide plasma to those admitted in other hospitals, starting Wednesday. Either patients or the hospital will have to provide a replacement donor or an undertaking of providing one at the earliest.

According to data provided by the Delhi government, 710 units of convalescent plasma have been issued to patients from other hospitals so far — 388 to patients over the age of 60 and 322 to patient below that age. The youngest to have received plasma from the government bank was 18-years-old and the oldest was 94-years-old. Of the 710, 522 were men and 188 women.

Several studies have shown that men are at a higher risk of dying of Covid-19 because of higher levels of ACE-2 receptors that the virus uses to enter cells.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said plasma therapy plays an important role in reducing the death rate among Covid-19 patients until a vaccine is available. He said it has shown encouraging results in recovery of critically ill patients and should be looked at as an effective treatment for Covid-19.

An interim analysis of the clinical outcomes of 30 Covid-19 patients at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences found that the number of deaths remained the same among those who received convalescent plasma and those who didn’t.

A study from China in April showed that there was improvement in clinical parameters such as oxygen saturation in patient who received the therapy, but the scientists noted that larger studies were needed to prove the effectiveness of the therapy.

“However, none of the studies so far have shown mortality benefit of this therapy, or any other therapy for that matter. However, we have seen it reduces the severity and recovery time for the infection,” said Dr SK Sarin, director, ILBS.