Karnataka's first recipient of plasma therapy dies in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A 60-year-old Covid-19 patient from Andhra Pradesh died at Victoria Hospital’s trauma care centre on Thursday. The man was the state’s first patient to be administered plasma therapy and recently battled severe pneumonia, respiratory distress, diabetes and hypertension.
He was given plasma therapy on April 12. “As per studies, 86% of Covid-19 patients on ventilator succumb to the infection. What we are doing is an unbiased trial,” said Dr US Vishal Rao of Health Care Global (HCG) Cancer Centre, who is spearheading the convalescent plasma therapy research.
Convalescent plasma therapy is seen as a hope for critically ill coronavirus patients. Blood plasma of a fully recovered Covid-19 person is administered to critical patients.
The research team has six more units of plasma donated by young, healthy persons, who have recovered from the infection.
Another 80-year-woman from Dakshina Kannada too died on Thursday, taking the total number of Covid-19 deaths in Karnataka to 35. The woman suffered a stroke and septic shock.
Karnataka reported 28 new cases on Thursday and the total number of infected in the state now is 987. Five cases were reported from Padarayanapura containment zone in Benglauru. Six of the new patients had returned from Mumbai and four from Gujarat.
Seven of the new cases were from Bidar, five from Mandya, four from Gadag, three from Davanagere, two from Kalaburagi and one each from Belagavi and Bagalkot.
‘Research will continue’
“The patient had multiple complications and didn’t survive. This trial shouldn’t make us worry about plasma therapy. This was used as a a last weapon. The research on plasma therapy will continue,” said S Suresh Kumar, Karnataka’s Covid-19 spokesperson.