Assam Govt forbids private institutions from collecting COVID-19 convalescent plasma

Guwahati: The Assam Government has prohibited the collection of COVID-19 convalescent plasma by any privately owned institutions or nursing homes "until further orders."

"In order to remove any doubts, it is reiterated that Health and Family Welfare department prohibits only collection of COVID-19 convalescent plasma by any privately-owned institution, private nursing home/private blood bank in the entire state until further orders", read the Government order.

However, the institutions/nursing homes/blood banks "are free to carry out transfusion of COVID-convalescent plasma to a needy patient by collecting plasma from any Government blood bank as per availability, by making available a suitable replacement donor for the same.

This has been ordained at a time when plasma therapy is gaining momentum in Assam, where as many as 700 recovered coronavirus patients have expressed interests to donate to the plasma bank.

Meanwhile, Dr. Manoj Choudhury, the executive director of the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam, has said that the patients who have received plasma therapy have responded well to the treatment so far.

The Government of Assam also plans to open donation banks in other parts of the state; according to reports, machine have already reached the Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, Assam Medical College and Hospital and Tezpur Medical College and Hospital, where plasma therapy is expected to begin soon.

With the discovery of a vaccine still seemingly in the distant horizon, the number of plasma donors is expected to multiply over the coming few weeks. By the first 2 weeks of August, around 100 people will have completed their 28-day period post-discharge and thus, will be eligible for plasma donation.

In this particular therapy, doctors transfuse convalescent plasma from someone who has recovered from COVID-19 into patients who are sick. Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood from people who've recovered from COVID-19. The idea behind this principle is that recovered COVID-19 patients' plasma contains antibodies that might help fight the virus. 

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