City hospital to join plasma therapy trials for Covid-19

Coimbatore: A city-based private hospital is all set to join the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)’s plasma therapy trials for Covid-19 patients.
PSG Hospitals authorities said they had received approval for the trials around 10 days ago, making it only one of the two private medical college hospitals in the state to join the trials.
However, the hospital is yet to find ideal patients to join the trials or donors to start collecting blood plasma. The hospital, which has been treating Covid-19 patients since April, has treated around 25 patients so far.
Hospital dean Dr S Ramalingam said, “Except two, all our patients have been asymptomatic. While the two are ideal donor candidates, we want them to finish 28 days of recovery as per protocol, before requesting them to come forward. Once things settle down, we will begin the trials by formally informing the public health authorities.”
The hospital authorities said the ICMR had approved their application to start clinical trials of convalescent plasma therapy last month. “According to the approval, we can try the therapy on patients with moderate symptoms and an oxygenation level of 93% and less up to about 85%,” said Dr Murali, infectious disease expert and Covid-19 nodal officer of the hospital. “We will be allowed to give two transfusions of plasma therapy to a patient. Each transfusion will have around 250ml of plasma.”
The plasma donor should be a person who tested positive for Covid-19 with strong symptoms, including fever with cold and cough. The hospital could also include patients who are suffering from respiratory distress. “We have to wait for 28 days after recovery for them to come forward and donate plasma. A patient can donate plasma only once a month” Dr Murali said.
He said the plasma would be separated from flood with the help of a plasmapheresis machine. “Once that is done, the remaining components of the blood, including red and white blood cells and platelets, would be reinfused in the body. One litre of blood could produce anywhere between 400ml and 600ml plasma in one to one and half hours.”
The plasma, which contains readymade antibodies, is believed to be able to fight the virus more effectively in the body, halting its spread and killing it off, allowing the patient to recover fast.
The experimental therapy has been found useful in treating diseases like the 1918 Spanish flu, H1N1 in 2009 and SARS outbreaks.