Gujarat seeks nod to begin plasma therapy

Paul John | TNN | Apr 16, 2020, 06:42 IST

Picture used for representational purpose only

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat health department has applied to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for using convalescent plasma therapy, which involves injecting Covid-19 patients’ with blood plasma which contains pathogen-fighting antibodies produced by the body in response to an infection.
For Covid, plasma from people who have recovered from the infection, and whose bodies have generated the antibodies required to fight the virus, will be injected in critically ill patients to save their lives.
Principal secretary, health, Jayanti Ravi said, “We have applied to ICMR to permit us to start convalescent plasma therapy on Sunday. We look forward to their approval.”
The ICMR on April 12 called for proposals from institutions across the country to participate in the clinical trials for plasma exchange and convalescent plasma therapy. Here, the ICMR has instituted a rider that hospitals and institutions planning to provide this modality of treatment should do so in a clinical trial with protocols, which are cleared by the Institutional Ethics Committee.