Mumbai: Following the lead taken by Kerala, the Maharashtra government, too, has decided to try the 'convalescent plasma therapy' to treat COVID-19 patients.
On Tuesday, the BYL Nair Hospital collected blood samples from patients who had recovered from novel coronavirus, to harvest the antibodies from their plasma. Kerala is currently exploring this method of treatment.
Convalescent plasma therapy involves giving patients plasma transfusion from those who have recovered from the infection. Nair Hospital Dean Dr Ramesh Bharmal said that in order to embark on this line of treatment, they needed to collect more blood samples. So far, five people have agreed to donate blood.
“We collected blood from a patient who had recovered from coronavirus. Now, we will be separating the plasma from the donated blood and use it for treatment of COVID-19 patients,” he said. Since this process is currently being carried out as a study, it cannot be considered as an effective treatment for COVID-19.
Several clearances had to be obtained before the study could begin. “We will first have to create a plasma bank, so that we have enough for COVID-19 patients. We have got all the preliminary ethical permissions to conduct the study,” added Dr Bharmal. Patients who were discharged a few weeks ago have been enrolled for the study
