Rajasthan awaits ICMR nod to start plasma therapy

The Rajasthan government on Saturday said that it is waiting for the consent of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to carry out plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients in the state.

Jaipur: Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Rajasthan, Raghu Sharma on Saturday said that his state is ready to provide plasma therapy to coronavirus patient but it's waiting for the approval of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

According to the reports, Sawai Mansingh Hospital of the state is all set to carry out therapy to serious coronavirus patient, the patients who are on a ventilator or under intensive care unit (ICU).

"We have written a letter to ICMR and have put forward our proposal of the plasma therapy treatment to the infected patients, now the green signal from ICMR is awaited," Raghu Sharma added.

He also explained that, the state government of Rajasthan held a talk with the doctors of Sawai Mansingh Hospital and it was thereby informed that the hospital has already formed a team of well-trained doctor to execute the therapy.

"This therapy is antibody-based therapy, plasma is taken from the patient who has recovered. Firstly, the recovered patient is examined thoroughly and after all the reports are negative, his blood is taken to extract plasma," Doctor Lokendra Sharma of Sawai Mansingh Hospital, Jaipur said.

According to him, this treatment can be majorly focused on seriously ill patients in order to boost up their immunity. However, the recovered patients can donate their blood to other sufferers so that they can defeat the virus.

The doctor further informed that plasma therapy had its inception in the year 1890, a German physiologist reportedly introduced it. When a deadly disease like Ebola had spread in the year 2014, WHO had then recommended plasma therapy to fight the disease.