Tamil Nadu’s Health Department has sought the approval of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for trial of convalescent plasma therapy for critically-ill coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in the State.
An official of the health department, while confirming that ICMR nod had been sought, said that plasma therapy was mainly for treating severely ill COVID-19 patients. The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital has applied to ICMR for taking up plasma therapy and will launch the trial as soon as it gets the nod.
“Plasma therapy involves collection of plasma from a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and transfusion to another patient. When a person recovers from COVID-19, he/she would have antibodies against the virus. Once the patients make a complete recovery and are screened for viral clearance, we can collect the plasma that will have the antibodies,” he said.
Blood would be screened for other infections such as HIV and malaria before being taken for transfusion. “This therapy will be beneficial for patients who are severely ill, as their bodies lack the ability to fight the virus,” he said.
A senior doctor said the blood of patients, who had recovered from COVID-19, will have the antibodies, which were protein molecules, that had a definite tendency to fight the antigens. In severely ill patients, it will help in fighting the virus. “As of now, patients are divided into three categories — mild, moderate and severe — and treated accordingly. Those in the mild category are given certain drugs along with vitamin C. Those in the moderate category require oxygen masks and antiviral drugs, while severely ill require intensive care, ventilatory support and steroids,” the doctor said.
As of April 10, the State has 911 patients with COVID-19. Of this, 44 persons were discharged after treatment and nine have died.
