Know More About India’s First Plasma Bank And Associated Plasma Therapy

As the government works double-time alongside companies to test and manufacture an effective vaccine for the coronavirus, researchers are busy examining other drugs and treatments for COVID-19. Little attention has been directed toward a less glamorous form of treatment – plasma therapy. The therapy has been used experimentally in the past and has become a ray of hope in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. The Delhi government has launched the country’s first plasma bank at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. The bank has been set up to pool in plasma from people who recovered from COVID-19 so that moderately ill patients can have better access to therapy using it. In such a situation, appeals are being made to patients who have recently recovered from COVID-19 to donate plasma.

What is plasma therapy?

Plasmapheresis is the medical terminology for more prevalent and widely known plasma therapy. It refers to a process in which the blood fluid or plasma is separated from the blood cells. The antibody-rich plasma from a recovered patient is extracted and administered to a patient.

Which patients are given plasma therapy?

COVID-19 patient being treated on a ventilator can be given plasma therapy. Patients who have a breathing problem or if there is a pneumonia patch in the X-ray report with high fever or if the oxygen level is below 93% and breathing is difficult are considered eligible for plasma therapy.

Who can donate plasma?

Those who had COVID-19 disease, but have recovered at least 14 days before the donation can be considered. People between the ages of 18 and 60 are eligible. Women who have given birth are not eligible, as the antibodies they produce during pregnancy can interfere with lung function.

Around 200 ml to 250 ml of plasma can be taken from a healthy person

Anyone can donate plasma after 28 days of recovery from infection. Plasma donation does not put any effect on the health of the donor. Only 200 ml to 250 ml of plasma is taken from a healthy person and only 200 ml is given to the patient.

Who cannot donate plasma?

According to SK Sarin, director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, people weighing less than 50 kg, pregnant women, people with comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer cannot donate plasma.