Plasma therapy begins at Tezpur Medical College and Hospital

A CORRESPONDENT

TEZPUR: Taking yet another step forward in the fight against COVID-19, project patina, the world's largest convalescent plasma therapy treatment project for severe COVID-19 patients, started on Monday at Tezpur Medical College and Hospital (TMCH) on a 71-year old patients in ICU.

State Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma formally inaugurated the plasma bank at TMCH on August 2. The TMCH plasma bank is the second such bank after GMC. Two recovered patients, namely Kushal Nath and Pratap Limboo, donated plasma on the inaugural day. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is conducting a national study of convalescent plasma therapy in which the blood plasma from a symptomatic patient who recovered from COVID-19, which contains antibodies , is used.

Dr Karuna Hazarika, Chief Superintendent-cum-Principal of TMCH, appealed to healthy donors to come forward and donate plasma. Healthy individuals who recovered from COVID-19 can donate plasma. Hazarika further said that convalescent plasma can be taken from any symptomatic patient who has recovered from COVID-19. Once the patient's report (RT-PCR) becomes negative, he/she can donate his/her plasma after 14 days (the equivalent of two incubation periods) between the time of testing negative and plasma donation and must have a haemoglobin level of at least 12.5 grams per decilitre. This can help cure the disease, Dr Hazarika added.

Also watch: #NewsMakers: Being LGBTQ+ A Curse?