The Telangana Superspecialty Hospitals Association (TSHA) has urged COVID-19-recovered people to come forward to donate plasma for the treatment of those battling with the infection.
Association president and KIMS managing director B. Bhaskara Rao expressed concern that not many are coming forward to donate plasma because of certain misconceptions. There would not be any major side-effects because of plasma donation, he asserted.
Dr. Bhaskara Rao said though mortality rate of COVID patients was not very high, the increasing rate of person-to-person transmission had become a cause of concern. “Whenever one sees symptoms and has co-morbid issues, they should get admitted early for treatment. Recovery of patients who underwent plasma therapy is much faster,” he told reporters here on Tuesday.
Sarat Chandramouli, an expert in clinical immunology who accompanied Dr. Bhaskara Rao, said plasma therapy (the method in which plasma retrieved from COVID-cured patients is transfused into other affected patients so that their immunity system becomes stronger) is not new. It had been used in treating different pandemics since the 1950s. Availability of high level of antibodies was the major advantage of plasma therapy that would help the patients fight the virus effectively.
Use of plasma therapy in patients with moderate symptoms would be effective and persons who recovered from COVID-19 could donate plasma 28 days after the recovery. Dr. Bhaskara Rao said plasma would not be collected from all the recovered patients and tests would be performed on them to ascertain their suitability. “The cost of the therapy is low, around ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 as compared to drugs which will cost upwards of ₹1 lakh,” he said, adding that at the time when there was shortage of drugs in the market, plasma therapy would be the preferred substitute to treat COVID patients.
Dr. Bhaskara Rao said there was also shortage of healthcare personnel in hospitals. The association had, therefore, decided to train youth venturing to join the service and offer them good salaries. “Those interested will be trained for a week and taken into duty,” he said.
Replying to queries, he said the government is actively considering setting up a centralised plasma bank. The proposal would move ahead if more people come forward to donate plasma.
