Covid-19: Four cured using plasma therapy at GMC, discharged

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 2

Government Medical College (GMC) doctors here have successfully treated four Covid-19 patients using plasma therapy. “The four patients we have treated with plasma therapy were over 60 years of age and were also suffering from diseases as diabetes and high blood pressure,” said GMC Principal Dr Rajiv Devgan.

Devgan stated that all four patients had been discharged after complete recovery. He added that college was setting up a plasma bank and recovered patients should come forward to donate plasma.

“The bank being set up at a cost of Rs 30 lakh would be able to store blood plasma which could be used to treat positive cases,” he said adding that a cured patient can donate plasma after 14-days of recovery.

He said the plasma receiver’s body starts showing positive signs within 48 to 72 hours of the transfusion. He added that 800 ml plasma taken from the blood of a recovered patient can be used to treat four positive patients.

Before extracting plasma from the blood of a cured patient, two consecutive tests are conducted to ensure that the patient has fully recovered. Using a diagnostic test, the doctors are able to get the types of antibodies present in a donor’s blood.

The plasma is then transfused into an infected person’s blood. The antibodies present in the donor’s blood help the patient in fast recovery. “The recovered patients should come forward to donate plasma as it can boost the fight against Covid,” said Devgan.

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