Recovered patients in Mysuru agree to donate plasma

MYSURU: All the 43 discharged coronavirus patients from Mysuru district have consented to donate their plasma to help critically ill Covid- 19 patients recover. But the offer comes on a day the Union Health Ministry cautioned against convalescent plasma therapy, saying it is at an experimental stage and there is no evidence to support that it can be used as a treatment for Covid.

The therapy involves transfer of plasma from a recovered patient to an ailing Covid patient. The state too is conducting clinical trials after the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) acceded to the state’s request.

In Mysuru, all the discharged patients, including those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet in New Delhi, have given their written consent. The designated Covid hospital has drawn 10 ml blood samples of each of them for an estimation of antibody count and further analysis. However, ICMR has given the approval for clinical trials only at HCG Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru and there is no such approval given to any facility in Mysuru.

KR Hospital authorities said that they have the apheresis machine that is used to separate plasma and other components of the blood. But the unit is old and an upgrade is needed to make it compatible, they said. C P Nanjaraj, Dean of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, said that they had applied for ICMR approval on April 15 and it is expected soon. Asked about the condition of the apheresis machine, he said that it will be resolved as soon as the permission is received.