That day doctors took Priyal Jain’s blood samples at least four times, double-checking to make sure everything was in place. The next 40 minutes were crucial. As plasma carrying antibodies generated on COVID-19 infection were transfused into her blood, three doctors stood by monitoring her oxygen level and pulse.
Over days, her oxygen level had dropped to 88%. The illness turned her lungs completely white-out with pneumonia, though the 26-year-old breathed without discomfort, only a mild cough reminding her she was infected.
Ten days after the transfusion, Ms. Jain on Wednesday became one of the first two patients, critically ill after battling COVID-19, to recover after plasma therapy in Madhya Pradesh.
For the second recovered patient, Kapil Dev Bhalla, 55, diabetes and his age stacked the odds against him. But the day after the procedure, his need for oxygen per minute dropped by five litres. Two days later, he could breathe without an oxygen mask. The X-ray showed near-complete resolution of pneumonia, explained Ravi Dosi, head of the Respiratory Medicine Department.
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During his 27-day stay at hospital, Mr. Bhalla learnt an invaluable lesson. “Even if the odds are against you, don’t be afraid. Your thoughts should be positive. That can help you overcome any hurdle,” he said.
“I just want to thank the donor,” said Ms. Jain, a software engineer, while filling out her discharge slip at the Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences, Indore.
Two doctors, upon recovering from the illness, had donated their plasma that was transfused into four patients. The other two patients, one sample having tested negative, are on their way to recovery too.
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“Chances of survival are not good for patients in such critical condition if conventional treatment is administered. They either have to undergo prolonged ICU care or they die,” said Dr. Dosi. But after the transfusion, he added, the patients showed clinical recovery, near complete resolution of radiological signs and their biochemical indicators showed improvement too.
The hospital had picked 10 critical patients, primarily based on their oxygenation index, for the therapy. With its efficacy yet to be proven for COVID-19, only four consented.
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“I didn’t give it a second thought,” said Mr. Bhalla, an engineer at the Indore Development Authority. “I said go ahead, as doctors are a better judge. I am a technocrat, and if a new technology is introduced, I embrace it.”
Mr. Bhalla believes he contracted the illness while distributing food at a local quarantine centre. “It must be my own negligence,” he added. His wife too, having recovered from the coronavirus, was discharged from another hospital on the day. But his father remains admitted.
Ms. Jain consulted her family doctor first. “My friends had donated plasma after their recovery in Ahmedabad. But doctors told me the therapy was still being tried for COVID-19, but had worked for some other illnesses,” she said. With her sister also infected, Ms. Jain suspects they got the infection from their father, who does not know the source.
