Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Tamil Nadu began the clinical trials for convalescent plasma therapy, as a recovered COVID-19 patient stepped forward to make the state's first donation, here on Monday.
The Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Chennai began the clinical trial after the donation was made.
"The ICMR has granted permission for research on plasma therapy for coronavirus, and the preliminary work has begun," Subhash, the blood bank head of the hospital said.
"Through research, we can know about the pros and cons of the treatment. A report will be sent to the central government. Many hospitals across the country are involved in this research," he added.
Other than Chennai's Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital, the ICMR has also granted approval to the Madurai Medical College, Tirunelveli Medical College, and Vellore's Christian Medical College for the clinical trials.
Read: No evidence yet to support that plasma therapy can be used for COVID-19 treatment: Health Ministry
Convalescent Plasma Therapy is an experimental procedure for treating COVID-19 patients. In this treatment, plasma, a blood component, from a cured patient is transfused to a critically ill coronavirus patient.
The blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 develops antibodies to fight the virus. This therapy uses the antibodies from the blood of a cured patient to treat another critical patient.
The Union health ministry, however, had advised against considering the therapy to be regular treatment for conronavirus, adding it should be used for research and trial purposes till there is a robust scientific evidence to support its efficacy.
