Coronavirus Pune: Sassoon Hospital conducts first successful plasma therapy

Coronavirus Pune: Sassoon Hospital conducts first successful plasma therapy

Pune: The first human trial of plasma therapy in Pune was successfully done at the Sassoon General Hospital (SGH). The life of a critical patient was saved by this procedure, according to the dean of BJ Medical College (BJGMC) and the SGH, Dr Murlidhar Tambe.

The plasma, in this case, was provided by a patient who recovered from Naidu Hospital in Pune. The antibodies were present in the blood sample that fight the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) virus. The procedure where these antibodies are given to a critical patient is called plasma therapy.

The patient was given the plasma on May 10 and May 11, which resulted in improving his condition. Just after three days of the treatment, the patient was off the ventilator. He recovered completely on the 15th day.

The patient who received this treatment has blood pressure, hypothyroidism and obesity. It has been observed that many patients with co-morbidities have succumbed to COVID-19 so far.

"It is a good news that the patient has recovered well after the plasma therapy. And I am glad to share that the patient has been moved to the general ward as he is off the ventilator," said Dr Tambe. The patient had tested negative for COVID.

On April 20, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) gave a nod to plasma therapy, and prepared a list of hospitals where this can be carried out.

The previous dean of BJGMC and SGH, Dr Ajay Chandanwale sought permission for the plasma therapy trial to happen in BJGMC.

"Our hospital is one of the few hospitals in the country to conduct human trail of plasma therapy. We got the permission and were able to help the critical patient with a hopeful treatment modality," said Dr Tambe, who took over as the dean on April 18 this year.

So far, the ICMR has given permission to 25 centres to go ahead with plasma therapy. After human trials, the ICMR will collect the data and see if plasma therapy is really helpful for critical patients or not.

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