Two Covid-19 patients have been given convalescent plasma therapy at the SMS hospital in Jaipur and doctors say their condition is stable. The plasma donors were recovered Covid-19 patients.
Dr Sudhir Bhandari, the principal, SMS Medical College, said both patients—aged 63 and 54-years — showed moderate symptoms of the disease and were given the convalescent plasma therapy on Monday.
“The patients started feeling better and their symptoms such as breathlessness and persistent fever has gone away,” said Dr Raman Sharma, senior professor of medicine at SMS hospital.
“The patient’s oxygen saturation would fall if they walked a little bit. We saw that if the therapy is given timely, then the progression of the disease can be stopped. Now, their fever is gone and their oxygen saturation has improved,” Dr Sharma added.
Dr Bhandari said while it will take longer to confirm the healing through X-ray and CT scan, but a sense of well-being and reduction in symptoms is seen within 12-14 hours of administering the plasma therapy.
He added that in the coming days, three more patients could be given the therapy, depending on their condition.
“Patients who move into stage two and three and show significant symptoms are not responding adequately and need oxygen support… so when the patients are in moderate to severe illness stage, they are considered eligible for plasma therapy,” he said.
Rajasthan, on Sunday, received permission from the Indian Council of Medical Research to begin clinical trials for the convalescent plasma therapy.
The state has so far recorded 3,193 Covid-19 cases and 90 deaths. The government has pinned its hopes on plasma therapy to help cure critical patients and bring down the death rate.
The centre has stressed that plasma therapy is still in an experimental stage and should not be used for regular treatment of coronavirus patients until it is approved, otherwise, it may lead to life-threatening complications.
Convalescent plasma therapy entails taking antibodies from cured Covid-19 patients and injecting them in the blood of active coronavirus patients.
The antibody brings down the viral load in a patient, said Dr Sharma.
A team of doctors at SMS hospital has studied the feasibility and technique of carrying out plasma therapy on critical patients.
The blood bank in-charge at SMS hospital, Dr Bundas said the quantity of plasma taken from a donor ranges from 300-500 ml and the transfusion process takes 60-90 minutes.
Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jaipur has also received permission from ICMR to conduct phase-II clinical trial of the plasma therapy, named as PLACID trial to assess its safety and efficacy in Covid patients with moderate infection, said Dr. Vikas Chandra Swaranakar, chairman of Mahatma Gandhi Medical University.
He said the trials will begin soon at the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, the only hospital in the private sector in the state to have earned the nod.
The hospital said that people over the age of 18 who have been cured of coronavirus can donate their plasma voluntarily. The transfusion of donated plasma into a Covid-19 infected patient is done after consent. The results of the trial will be shared with ICMR.
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