he Goa Medical College will soon begin plasma therapy for treating the critical COVID19 patients, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has informed.
Sawant told reporters that the a new apheresis machine has been ordered which will arrive in next three days.
“Besides the machine, we have also discussed appointing a technical person to handle the machine and a MD doctor for transfusion on contract basis. The appointment would be completed in next 8 days,” he said after the meeting with Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Chief Secretary Parimal Rai and GMC Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar.
He said that GMC has also ordered 4000 plasma packs for storage.
“The plasma will be stored in blood bank. We have ordered 4000 bags as we may need them in future,” he said.
Replying to a query Sawant said they will call the patients, who have already been cured from COVID19 to willingly donate their plasma.
Convalescent plasma (kon-vuh-LES-unt PLAZ-muh) therapy is an experimental treatment that some doctors are using for people with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
No drug has been proved to be safe and effective for treating COVID-19. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn’t approved any drugs specifically to treat people with COVID-19.
But, people who’ve recovered from COVID-19 have antibodies — proteins the body uses to fight off infections — to the disease in their blood. The blood from people who’ve recovered is called convalescent plasma. Plasma is the liquid portion of the blood.
Researchers hope that convalescent plasma can be given to people with severe COVID-19 to boost their ability to fight the virus. It also might help keep people who are moderately ill from becoming more ill and experiencing COVID-19 complications.
If you’ve had COVID-19 and recovered from it, consider donating blood through the American Red Cross or your local donation center. Either can provide information about the donation process.
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