Plasma Therapy Proves To Be Effective As Delhi COVID-19 Patient Stops Needing Ventilator Support

For the first time, a COVID-19 patient in Delhi who is being treated at Max Hospital has stopped needing the ventilator after receiving the plasma therapy.

According to a report from TOI, the 49-year-old male patient tested positive with COVID-19 on April 4 was admitted to the Mas Hospital on the same day. At that time, the patient had moderate symptoms and a history of respiratory issues and fever.

The hospital said that his condition worsened the next few days and needed external oxygen. He started having pneumonia and Type I respiratory failure. On April 8, he was put on ventilator support.

His family then requested the administration of plasma therapy, a first of its kind used to treat the disease in India.

The family had made an arrangement for a donor who had already recovered from COVID-19. Patients who have made a complete recovery for a minimum of two weeks are encouraged to make plasma donation, which may help save critical patients’ lives.

A report from IANS stated that the donor of the 49-year-old patient recovered from the disease three weeks ago. At the time of donation, his tests for COVID-19, Hepatitis B, C, and HIV were negative.

On April 14, the patient received plasma therapy. After that, he showed improvement. By the fourth day, he was taken off ventilator support and only needed complementary oxygen.

The treatment called the convalescent plasma therapy was used during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1928 before antivirals or vaccines were available. The method relies on the blood of people who have made a full recovery of the disease. The recovered patients’ blood plasma has immunity against COVID-19, helping the infected patients to fight the coronavirus.

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