The Delhi Chief Minister said on April 16 that the city has got the Central government's approval to carry out clinical trials of plasma enrichment techniques to help critically ill coronavirus patients and will start it in next three to four days.
For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.
Speaking to the media, the Chief Minister said if the trial of plasma enrichment technique turns out to be successful, the Delhi government will be able to save the lives of serious COVID-19 patients. He also said that the condition of several COVID-19 patients, who were admitted to hospitals in the last week of March and the first week of April, is improving now and many of them will be discharged in the next three-four days.
"Various nations across the world have used plasma technology and have achieved successful results. Coronavirus can only be cured if a vaccine is invented. We have two challenges in front of us, first to contain the spread of coronavirus, which is why we have imposed lockdown and are urging people to follow social distancing."
The Chief Minister added that the second challenge is the recovery of the patient who has been infected with coronavirus, "where we have majorly observed that people who are already suffering from heart or respiratory diseases continue to be at a higher risk of losing their lives due to COVID-19." "If plasma technology is used in such cases, it can save lives," the Chief Minister said.
He said that the doctors of the Delhi government hospitals have been doing detailed research on this, and the trial mode will be carried out soon. "We have also been granted the permit for the trial by the Central government, and the doctors will start the trial in 3-4 days. If it turns out to be successful, we will be able to focus on trying to save the lives of serious patients. The results of the trial will be received in the next 4-5 days," the Chief Minister said.
The plasma transfusion technology, he said, involves taking the blood of the person who has recovered from COVID-19, which has anti-bodies that helped the person recover in the first place. "Plasma is then extracted from the blood, is enriched, and is then injected into an infected person. The anti-bodies from the recovered person then enter the body of the infected patient and help him recover. I hope that this trial becomes successful. Even other states like Kerala are trying this experiment and I hope that efforts of all the states are successful," he added. Delhi has reported more than 1,500 positive COVID-19 cases so far, while 32 persons have succumbed to the dreaded virus.
