Now, KGMU looks to set up plasma bank

LUCKNOW : To make plasma therapy available to more Covid-19 patients, the King George’s Medical University (KGMU) is planning to seek plasma donations from patients treated in other medical institutes of the state.

Doctors on Monday said coronavirus patients who had now recovered could donate their plasma for the treatment of others suffering from the disease.

Also, after three initial donations, the KGMU, which is is the first medical institution in UP to go for plasma therapy, now looking to set up a bank of plasma donated by treated coronavirus patients.

A 62-year-old patient from Orai was on Sunday given plasma donated by a patient who had recovered from the Covid-19 disease earlier.

“We are aware that plasma therapy shall be taken to other medical institutes after treatment of a few patients at the KGMU. We are already in contact with other medical institutes where coronavirus patients are treated. We appeal that patients who have recovered donate plasma and help other patients recover,” said Prof MLB Bhatt, vice-chancellor, KGMU in a press conference on Monday.

He said plasma therapy was introduced in 1918 and was reportedly first used in treating Spanish flu. Since then, it has

been used in various viral epidemics. “At present, we are the first government institution to have done such a procedure,” said Bhatt.

“The anti-bodies in a treated patient develop after three weeks of treatment and remain in the body for months, which can help in developing resistance. If donated plasma is provided to a patient undergoing treatment, it helps in recovery,”

he added.

Dr D Himanshu, senior faculty in medicine department who was involved in administering plasma therapy to the first patient, said: “The patient’s requirement for oxygen and ventilator support went down within 24 hours of administering plasma. We have to wait for 48 hours and see the total response.”

Prof Tulika Chandra, HoD, transfusion medicine said the shelf life of plasma is one year. “There is no harm in donating plasma. Donors do not get weak and there is no risk to their health,” she said.

Plasma can also be taken from those patients who test positive but remain asymptomatic. The only condition is tests are done to see if they have antibodies, said doctors.

PLASMA CAN ALSO BE TAKEN FROM THOSE PATIENTS WHO TEST POSITIVE BUT REMAIN ASYMPTOMATIC.