Plasma therapy starts at Bhagalpur hospital

BHAGALPUR: Plasma therapy, which has helped several critically ill patients recover from Covid-19, began at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College and Hospital (JLNMCH) in Bhagalpur on Thursday.
Although a plasmapheresis machine was installed at the hospital’s blood bank in the third week of August, procurement of a no objection certificate from the drug controller of the government and a clearance certificate from the Indian Council of Medical Research for starting plasma therapy took around 20 days.
According to JLNMCH blood bank incharge Dr Rekha Jha, plasmapheresis is a process in which plasma is separated from the blood cells.
“Plasma is extracted from the blood of the people, who have recovered from Covid-19 and developed antibodies. It is then transfused to other critically ill patients,” she told this newspaper and added that a blood bank technician was the first to donate plasma at the hospital.
All other departments of the hospital have also been informed about the commencement of plasma therapy. “Attendants of the Covid patients have to bring the donors for starting the transfusion which will be done in the ICU,” Dr Rekha said.
JLNMCH principal Dr Hemant Kumar Sinha pointed out that plasma therapy could save critically ill Covid patients and those with autoimmune disorders.
Earlier, members of the Indian Medical Association and several doctors had raised the demand for starting plasma therapy at the JLNMCH when health department principal secretary Pratyaya Amrit was here on July 31 to review the facilities at the hospital. Subsequently, a committee, headed by medicine department’s Dr Binay Kumar, was formed. Other members of the panel included Dr Mrityunjay Kumar, Dr Hem Shankar Sharma, Dr P B Mishra, Dr Satyendra Kumar and Dr Rekha.