After giving plasma to 3,000 patients, YCM hospital stops its collection for covid treatment

On Monday, the ICMR said following a meeting between officials of ICMR and National National Task Force, the Clinical Guidance for Management of Adult COVID-19 Patients have been revised and convalescent plasma has been dropped from the guidelines. The guidelines had suggested use of plasma therapy when the COVID-19 patient had moderate disease or within seven days of the onset of symptoms.

Dr Aniket Lathi, one of the doctors looking after the plasma therapy at YCMH, said, “Plasma therapy seems to have been dropped after it was observed that virulent strain developed after its irrational use,” he said. The ICMR has said that plasma therapy does not offer any benefit to patients when his disease is progressing to severe form, he said.

Dr Shankar Mosalgi, who heads the YCMH blood bank which collects plasma from patients having recovered from COVID, said,”We will wait for FDA guidelines in this connection. So far, we have not received any communication from the government…But since the decision has been taken to stop it, we will have to bring it to a halt.”

When contacted, FDA joint commissioner S B Patil said, “I am aware of the decision of the government. We are also waiting for the communication from the government. As soon as we receive it, we will disseminate the information to hospitals and blood banks.”

Dr Mosalgi said in the last one year, they have provided plasma for 3,000 patients. “These are both civic hospital patients as well as those from other hospitals in Pimpri-Chinchwad,” he said.

Dr Mosalgi said their observation was that plasma therapy was being used irrationally. “Some private hospital doctors recommended plasma when other options had failed. Actually, two plasma bags for one patient is the norm. But some doctors demanded more than two bags. I know about one prominent personality for whom five bags were collected from YCMH. This only reflected the irrational use of plasma,” he said.

Dr Mosalgi said a few days back, 20-22 citizens were turning up to donate plasma. “The number had come down to less than 10 recently,” he said. The PCMC had promise Rs 2000 per donation to those who give plasma 28 days after they have recovered from COVID.

Dr Mosalgi added that they have not been able to keep track as to how many patients benefitted from plasma therapy. “We did not get the feedback from the patients or doctors. So are in a position to tell whether it benefitted patients or not,” he said.

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