First COVID-19 patient who underwent plasma therapy dies in Mumbai

Mumbai, May 01: The 53-year-old male patient who first underwent plasma therapy in Maharashtra, passed away on April 29, said Dr Ravishankar, CEO Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.

The Health Minister of Maharashtra Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said that plasma therapy is being used in the state on an experimental basis after getting approval from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

"I have not heard what exactly ICMR has suggested today on plasma therapy. But I know that we are doing it on an experimental basis after ICMR allowed us to do so. I want to tell you that we have seen good results on two patients", said Tope.

Convalescent plasma is one of several emerging therapies but there is no robust evidence to support it for routine therapy, according to the ICMR.

ICMR also added that at present there are no approved or definitive therapies for COVID-19.

Cautioning about the risks of using plasma therapy, ICMR had noted that there are also several risks of using this therapy including life-threatening allergic reactions and lung injury.

According to experts, during COVID-19 infection antibodies are produced in the body to combat the infection. These antibodies will remain in the plasma of the patients who have recovered from the infection even after full recovery. The plasma, tranfused to severely ill virus-infected patients might help in recovery and survival.