HYDERABAD: Gandhi Hospital doctors have collected plasma from 36 COVID-19 recovered donors on Saturday. Now, the state-run hospital is all set to conduct the plasma therapy to cure the COVID-19 patients from Monday, May 11.

Gandhi Hospital management has separated the plasma from the donated blood and stored it for plasma therapy. The doctors have collected 400 ml of plasma from each patient, which will be used for two patients at 200 ml for each.

The collected blood will then be pumped back into the donors’ body. As part of the treatment, the plasma extracted from the donor’s blood will be injected into the COVID-19 patient with the same blood group. The plasma taken from people successfully treated for the disease helps new patients gain the immunity and recover from the killer virus.

However, the ICMR has sounded a note of caution stating that plasma therapy treatment should not be experimented on all COVID-19 patients. The hospital should conduct the therapy only on patients cleared by ICMR.

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has made it clear that plasma therapy should be considered as part of clinical trials. ICMR granted permission to Gandhi Hospital, ISI Medical College, Apollo Hospital (Gachibowli) to conduct the plasma therapy.

There are currently 400 coronavirus patients who are undergoing treatment in Gandhi Hospitals. Out of which, 15 persons were facing difficulties in breathing and kept on ventilator. Even usage of drugs like hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin and other drugs does not seem to help in the betterment of their condition.

The Gandhi Hospital management has set up an ethics committee with five doctors who are treating COVID-19 patients in the hospital. The hospital management has requested ICMR to permit plasma therapy on patients who were kept on ventilator. To that extent, the ICMR has conducted an inspection of the facilities available to see if treatment of the patients with plasma therapy is viable and granted permission after also taking into consideration the experience of the doctors involved in the treatment.

Also Read: Traffic Jams Return To Hyderabad Roads As COVID-19 Lockdown Curbs Eased