Plasma therapy offers hope, demand for donors soars

Chennai

The demand for blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients is increasing in the city, with patients and their kin struggling to arrange for it through social media and other platforms.

The State health department officials have also urged recovered patients to donate plasma, noting that 18 of the 20 patients who were administered plasma therapy at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) have benefited from it.

K Rahul (32) from Nungambakkam had to run from one blood bank to another, contact several NOGs and call almost all of his relatives to arrange for plasma for his father after a private hospital suggested that the therapy may offer hope of recovery.

Not just Rahul, but hundreds are in search of plasma donors for their kin every day. Plasma donation pages have popped up on social media platforms to help them, and Facebook and WhatsApp groups are filled with requests.

The Union Health Ministry has recommended it as a therapy under investigation, and the Phase II, Open Label, Randomised Controlled Trial to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma to Limit COVID-19 Associated Complications in Moderate Disease (PLACID Trial) by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is going on at several hospitals in the State.

But despite a lack of research evidence, doctors here said many patients in the State have benefitted by the therapy.

Even before the clinical trial began in the State, several private hospitals in the city had started it for patients. An emergency consultant with a private hospital in Kelambakkam said it was being used on patients since May if donors volunteered to donate or family could arrange them on their own.

"The trial is continuing and though there have been no final report by ICMR, we have seen about 18 patients recovering with convalescent plasma therapy. As per the guidelines, we use blood for plasma therapy only if the antibodies are present in the collected plasma sample," said Dr S Subhash, head of RGGGH blood bank who is leading the PLACID clinical trials at Madras Medical College and Hospital.

However, he added, not many recovered patients were coming forward to donate plasma. "If we contact 100 patients, only about 1-2 of them actually turn up. It's been difficult to get donors. Patients’ relatives have to take help of social media and friends to get donors," said Dr Subhash.

Considering the demand, emergency physician Dr A Mohamed Hakkim has come up with compiled data of names and contact details of 64 recovered patients from across Tamil Nadu who have agreed to donate plasma.

"Those who recovered have a feeling of tiredness and thus not coming forward to donate. I took help from volunteers to ensure that we get adequate number of donors. Even the blood banks associated with government hospitals are looking for more donors," Dr Hakkim said.

When asked about the efficacy of the therapy, Dr Hakkim said antibodies are found in recovered patients usually within a month of the recovery and last for about two three months.