Saswati Sarkar
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Written By: Saswati Sarkar | Updated : April 29, 2020 6:03 PM IST
Blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients is being seen as a new ray of hope for curing the infection. @Shutterstock
Recently, Bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor, who's recovered from the COVID-19 inferction, has offered to donate her blood plasma for the treatment of this condition. She has sent her blood sample to the King George's Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow, for testing. PTI has quoted Tulika Chandra, Head of Department of Transfusion Medicine, KGMU, saying, "So far, three Covid-19 patients, who have recovered from the infection at the KGMU, have donated their plasma."
Blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients is being seen as a new ray of hope for curing the infection. Recently, a 49-year-old man from Delhi recovered fully from the condition after he was administered this therapy, known as convalescent blood plasma therapy. Though it is not yet an approved treatment for the condition, global health agencies like the US Food and Drug Administration are encouraging cured patients of COVID-19 to donate their blood plasma.
Plasma forms about 55 per cent of your blood. It has high volumes of antibodies generated by your immune cells to protect you against infections. When we are cured of a fatal infection, our body produces antibodies against the pathogen (virus or bacteria) that triggered the infection. This process takes place in the plasma of your blood. For convalescent blood plasma therapy, doctors collect antibody-rich plasma from a cured patient and transfuse it to people suffering severely from the same condition. This method has been used as an experiment in some parts of India and the world.
China, the origin of the novel coronavirus, had used this blood plasma therapy as part of its clinical trial. The results were positive. UK and US have also initiated trials for this therapy. Recently, it yielded results among American Indians. In the past, blood plasma therapy was used to tackle SARS, Ebola, H1N1 and the Spanish flu epidemic.
If you've been able to battle the deadly COVID-19 infection, then donating your plasma may help save the lives of lakhs who are fighting this condition all over the world. There are two primary criteria for plasma donation: You have to test positive for COVID-19 and recover from it completely. You will be considered fully cured if you test negative for the condition and are free of symptoms for at least 14 days. You also need to meet the regular blood donation eligibility criteria for donating plasma. To be eligible for this you:
It is recommended that before donating your plasma, you drink at least 500 ml of water or any other non-alcoholic beverage. You should have a healthy meal before getting into the donation process to prevent dehydration, dizziness and fatigue. Visit an accredited centre for the process. Donation will be preceded by an initial blood test, a questionnaire and a physical exam.
The process of plasma collection takes about an hour or so. In this procedure blood will be drawn from your arm and channelized through an instrument. It will return the blood cells and the platelets to you after extracting the plasma along with some saline. The saline is aimed towards replacing your withdrawn plasma.
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