MP: Hospital starts plasma bank for COVID-19 treatment

A plasma bank has been formally started at a private hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, an official said on Tuesday.
The facility was started at Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS), where plasma of patients who have recovered from the infection is being stored, the official said.
Taking to Twitter, state Health Minister Narottam Mishra said, “The first plasma bank in the state is being set up by SAIMS to introduce plasma therapy in Madhya Pradesh for the treatment of coronavirus infection. This bank will prove effective for the treatment the patients.” Plasma therapy is a procedure where plasma from a recovered COVID-19 patient is transfused into a critically ill coronavirus patient.
According to experts, the blood of a recovered patient develops anti-bodies, which when injected into the body of critical patient can help the person fight the infection.
“People who have recovered from COVID-19 have been contacting us every day wishing to donate their plasma,” said Dr Ravi Dosi, the head of chest diseases department at SAIMS.
As many as 3,000 patients were treated at the hospital, of which 19 have donated their plasma so far, he said, adding that patients from other hospitals can also approach SAIMS for plasma.
As of Tuesday morning, Indore has recorded 4,709 COVID-19 cases, of which 229 patients have died during treatment and 3,452 have recovered so far.