Haryana Director General of Health Services Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj has said that 2817 plasma units have been collected from patients and 1878 Covid-19 patients given plasma therapy so far which is safer than anti-inflammatory drugs currently being used as it provides Covid-specific therapy.
Talking to The Pioneer over the phone, Kamboj said, “Using plasma therapy is not very enthusiastic in overtly advocating it because the response is not the same in all patients. All plasma donations do not convert to patient cure. We should not say that it is being recommended as a treatment, but based on the experience and decision of the physician, plasma therapy remains as an experimental therapy for mild and moderate covid-19 patients. Only serious patients whose condition is deteriorating are administered plasma therapy.”
DG Health added, “The number of recoveries in the State has now crossed the 1.43 lakh mark. The increasingly vicious circle of the virus could be broken if the general public follow the protocol that is not to go out without any important work; wear a mask while going out; avoid going to crowded places and frequently wash hands with soap.”
Kamboj said when one contracts an infection, especially a viral infection, their recovery depends on the production of antibodies to fight the antigen (the virus, which in the current case, is Covid-19). These antibodies are present in the recovered person’s blood for a few weeks after recovery. On the other hand, those who are not recovering from the viral infection could be failing to fight it off as they may not have developed the warrior antibodies. “If the patient who is failing to recover is administered antibodies from a convalescing patient (rich in antibodies), the ailing patient would be able to fight the virus and recover from the infection, “he added.
Asked about the Central Government considering whether convalescent plasma therapy, which is widely used by hospitals in Haryana and across the Country for treating Covid-19 patients, may be discarded from the list of treatment options under the national guidelines, he said that the therapy is still in the experimental phase, like several other drugs like remdevisir, HCQ and tocilizumab.
When contacted, Dr Dhruva Chaudhary, who is the nodal officer for Covid-19 in Haryana, said that Plasma therapy uses the blood plasma donated by patients who have recovered from Covid-19, as their bodies would have developed protective antibodies against the virus, to treat those with the virus. Usually used on patients who are not responding to conventional treatment, plasma therapy is currently helping many Covid-19 patients recover. “Administration of convalescent plasma from a recovered individual to an ailing patient, in order to boost the levels of antibodies, is a known treatment modality in medical science, “he added.
Asked about ICMR director general’s statement on the use of convalescent plasma therapy for Covid- 19 patients from national guidelines, he said that more studies are required before one can completely eliminate it. Plasma therapy has proved effective in defeating Covid-19 in the State. Using plasma therapy is not very enthusiastic in overtly advocating it because the response is not the same in all patients. The decision regarding giving plasma therapy should depend on the individual clinician. “So, if you have no other antiviral drug, the only treatment that still has antiviral impact is the plasma therapy by which the viral load decreases. Only serious patients whose condition is deteriorating are administered plasma therapy. In Rohtak, “We have about 96 plasma donors who have come forward and 80 people have benefited from it.”
Chaudhary said those who have recovered from Covid-19 can help us in saving precious lives by donating plasma. Plasma donation is a safe and simple procedure. Haryana’s plasma bank was set up in Gurugram, Faridabad, Rohtak, Panchkula and Karnal. Each person can donate 250-500 ml of plasma.
Another health officer said that Convalescent plasma therapy involves injecting the COVID-19 patient with convalescent sera of people who recovered from the infection recently. The patients cured of the disease have antibodies that fight coronavirus away. Plasma, the liquid component of blood, is a yellow-hued fluid that assists in clotting and immunity. The process of donating plasma, from a patient point of view, is the same as donating blood. There will be no weakness or any problem after donating plasma and with this, lives of many people could be saved, he added.
“Donors should be at least 18 years of age. Women who have never been pregnant (nulliparous) and whose body weight is more than 55 kg, are eligible. Any person aged between 18 and 60, who was tested corona positive through RT-PCR test having symptoms of fever and cough and has turned negative after treatment of 14 days, can donate plasma. Counselling and screening is done for them before the actual donation process begins. The process for each donor is completed within two to two-and-a-half hours,” he added.
He added the process of donation would take an hour-and-a-half. After the blood is ejected from the recovered patient, the serum is separated and screened for virus-neutralizing antibodies.”
Kunal Gupta, a 21-year-old businessman of Panchkula has donated plasma twice and saved four precious lives. He donated his plasma in June and August and also told the hospital authorities that he was willing to donate his plasma more number of times.
Mohit Sharma, resident of Mohali said, “Years ago, I had donated platelets, and I’m a regular blood donor. So, I was open to plasma donation too. Initially, my parents were a little scared, but I told them that it could help save the lives of critical patients, and they agreed. I felt good when I donated it the first time. It is painless and takes just about one hour.”