Delhi’s Covid-19 patient recovers after plasma therapy

New Delhi, April 26 (IANS): A 49-year-old man who was administered convalescent plasma therapy at a private hospital in the national capital has fully recovered and was discharged on Sunday.

The man had tested positive on April 4 and was admitted at a hospital in Delhi’s Saket area with moderate symptoms and a history of fever and respiratory issues, the same day.

His condition deteriorated during the next few days and he soon required external oxygen to maintain saturation. He soon developed pneumonia with Type I respiratory failure and had to be put on ventilator support on April 8.

When the patient showed no improvement in his condition, his family requested the hospital for administration of plasma therapy on compassionate grounds, a first of its kind treatment modality that was used for this disease in India.

The family came forward to arrange a donor for extracting plasma. The donor had recovered from the infection three weeks before and again tested COVID-19 negative at the time of donation.

The critically ill patient was administered fresh plasma as a treatment modality as a side-line to standard treatment protocols on the night of April 14.

After receiving the treatment, the patient showed progressive improvement and by fourth day, was weaned off ventilator support on the morning of April 18 and continued on supplementary oxygen, thereafter.

Speaking on the success of the first case administered under Plasma Therapy, doctor Sandeep Budhiraja, Group Medical Director of Max Healthcare and Senior Director of the Institute of Internal Medicine said, “We are delighted that the therapy worked well in his case, opening a new treatment opportunity during these challenging times.”

He however added, “But, it is important that we also understand that Plasma Therapy is no magic bullet. We cannot attribute 100 per cent recovery to Plasma Therapy only, as there are multiple factors which carved his path to recovery.”

Chairman of Max Healthcare Abhay Soi also added that such a therapy has a good potential to help critically-ill Covid-19 patients.

“Recent modifications in government regulations have made it more accessible for hospitals in various states. We need positive support from individuals who have recovered from the disease to come forward as donors,” said Soi.