Convalescent plasma therapy could soon be discontinued as a treatment for COVID-19 patients, the Centre has said Tuesday. The therapy continues to be used widely across the country. This, after plasma therapy failed to benefit COVID-19 patients in the largest randomized trial conducted in India, carried out by the ICMR in August. The study found that plasma didn’t particularly help lower mortality or severity of COVID-19 in patients treated with it.
#ICMYI, @ICMR_Delhi is considering scrapping #plasmatherapy from the national treatment guidelines for #COVID19. https://t.co/67dCDqIdsD
— Tech2 (@tech2eets) October 21, 2020
Govt may remove #plasmatherapy therapy as #COVID19 -19 treatment: ICMR chief https://t.co/GwKrEzgnEK
— Zoom News (@Zoom_News_India) October 21, 2020
Balram Bhargava, director-general of the ICMR, cited the council’s study on 464 patients in 39 hospitals across the country earlier this year that had suggested that plasma did not reduce mortality or severe illness in Covid-19 patients https://t.co/kv3lsOT1Bd
— The Telegraph (@ttindia) October 21, 2020
Delhi health minister says plasma therapy shouldn’t be removed ,here’s what he said
News updates from Hindustan Times: Delhi health minister says ICMR shouldn’t remove plasma therapy and all the latest newshttps://t.co/z4WaBUqoRb
— Hindustan Times (@HindustanTimes) October 21, 2020
#Delhi Health Minister @SatyendarJain says ICMR should not remove #PlasmaTherapy altogether. He added that plasma therapy saved his own life & the life of 2000 others. pic.twitter.com/vZtRIOkLb3
— Mirror Now (@MirrorNow) October 21, 2020
The therapy involves taking anti-bodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 and transfusing those into a COVID-19 patient to help kickstart the immune system to fight the infection.
We are now discussing it with the joint monitoring group for the deletion of plasma therapy from the national guidelines,” Dr Bhargava said. “That is the discussion ongoing and more or less we are reaching towards that.”
