Karnataka’s first plasma donor, whose plasma will be administered to a COVID-19 patient, hopes to inspire others to come forward and help in the fight against the pandemic.
The 40-year-old HR professional said he did not think twice about signing up as a donor when he heard that HCG Hospital in Karnataka had got approval for plasma therapy.
“I got in touch with the hospital and told them I wanted to do this. I felt that it was my moral responsibility. I wanted to make a difference,” he said.
He contracted the virus in the end of March after travelling to Dubai. “As soon as we landed at the Bengaluru airport, we were taken to a hospital and given strict instructions to follow home quarantine. A week later, I started showing symptoms.”
He spent over a fortnight in the hospital and initially found it challenging as he had high fever. The HR professional said that he too had done his homework and read up extensively on plasma therapy.
As Karnataka’s first donor, he hopes that more people who are hale and hearty and have recovered from COVID-19 would come forward and donate their plasma. The team at HCG Hospital conducted a series of blood tests on Sunday and he will be able to donate his plasma in a day or two.
Uses antibodies
Vishal Rao, associate dean of HCG, said the plasma therapy used antibodies from the blood of cured patients, to treat severely ill COVID-19 cases in the clinical trial setting.
“The recovered patient’s blood develops antibodies to fight against COVID-19 and the plasma of this cured patient has medicinal properties that when infused to the infected serious patient, will assist in elimination of coronavirus in infected patients who are in a serious condition,” he said.
HCG Hospital has tied up with the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMRCI) for plasma therapy.
The Central Drugs Control Organisation under the Director General of Health Services has approved a research proposal to study the use of convalescent plasma therapy in treating COVID-19. The therapy that holds promise in treatment of COVID-19 cases will be tested on at least 12 critically ill patients in the State in the initial phase.
