First Covid-19 patient given plasma therapy in UP dies
Lucknow/UNI: In a set back to the plasma therapy treatment for Covid-19 in Uttar Pradesh, the first patient, who was given plasma therapy and was recovering, died here at the King George Medical University (KGMU) on Saturday.
The 58-year-old doctor from Orai and his wife were found coronavirus positive and were admitted to the KGMU last month.
Though the medics claimed the couple tested negative on Saturday, but the doctor died of urinary infection, confirmed KGMU spokesperson Dr Sudhir Singh. The victim was the first Covid-19 patient who was given plasma taken from another recovered patient who had recovered from the illness.
The doctors said that the condition of the ailing doctor improved after the therapy and use of ventilator was also minimised.
Unfortunately, the patient developed urinary infection and was given dialysis. Today, he tested negative for coronavirus twice, but collapsed in the afternoon.
However, the wife of the doctor, has tested negative of Covid twice and was released from the hospital on Friday last.
The deceased doctor was administered the plasma donated by a woman doctor from Canada who was the first COVID-19 patient admitted to the KGMU and later recovered.
So far, three coronavirus patients who have now recovered have donated plasma for the treatment of others suffering from the disease.
Convalescent plasma therapy is an experimental procedure for COVID-19 patients.
In this treatment plasma, a blood component, from a cured COVID-19 patient, is transfused to a critically ill coronavirus patient. The blood of a person, who has recovered from COVID-19, develops antibodies which can kill the virus.
This therapy is based on the idea that immunity can be transferred from a healthy person to a sick patient using convalescent plasma. Once the blood plasma of the recovered patient is infused into that of the sick patient, the antibodies start fighting coronavirus.
The process of donating plasma is similar to that of donating blood and takes about an hour.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had asked the state's medical authorities to promote plasma therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 patients after examining its efficacy.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently allowed states to start clinical trials of plasma therapy.
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