KOLKATA: After Medical College Hospital (MCH), at least two private hospitals in the city are ready to set up plasma banks, following encouraging results from the initial stages of clinical trials. But with ICMR allowing hospitals to use plasma as an ‘off label’ therapy, some hospitals have started using it on a few patients.
The Bengal government had earlier announced the setting up of a plasma bank at Medical College Hospital. It already has a repository from where plasma is used for clinical trials at ID Hospital. AMRI Hospitals, too, will have its own plasma bank soon. Now, they are gearing up to meet the rising demand for plasma. Medica has also announced its intention to set up a plasma bank.
AMRI has launched a Covid Warriors’ Club, perhaps the first private hospital to create a roster of plasma donors for treatment of Covid-19 patients. The club includes as its members staffers of AMRI Hospitals who have recovered from the disease. Around 150 such employees have pledged to donate plasma for clinical management of the Covid-infected.
Hospitals, such as Apollo Gleneagles, Medica Superspecialty and RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, have used the therapy on a few patients so far. But doctors and the health department have warned against indiscriminate use of such therapy.
“I tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-May and was in home isolation. I’m very happy that our hospital has taken up such an initiative. I’m ready to donate plasma to help others,” said Sushmita Mondal, a nurse who has now recovered.
Ritam Chakraborty, transfusion medicine specialist who heads the department of transfusion medicine and blood bank at AMRI, Dhakuria, said, “We shall use an advanced cell separator machine to extract plasma from donors through the apheresis method, which is currently the only government-notified way of extracting plasma in West Bengal.”
“There have been cases where it was seen that a patient, who was not responding to the usual treatment process, had shown signs of improvement through plasma therapy,” said Rupak Barua, CEO, AMRI Hospitals.
“There is so much hype about the therapy that patients’ relatives ask for the therapy. Doctors, however, should restrain from using the therapy randomly,” said a doctor of another private hospital.
The Bengal government had earlier announced the setting up of a plasma bank at Medical College Hospital. It already has a repository from where plasma is used for clinical trials at ID Hospital. AMRI Hospitals, too, will have its own plasma bank soon. Now, they are gearing up to meet the rising demand for plasma. Medica has also announced its intention to set up a plasma bank.
AMRI has launched a Covid Warriors’ Club, perhaps the first private hospital to create a roster of plasma donors for treatment of Covid-19 patients. The club includes as its members staffers of AMRI Hospitals who have recovered from the disease. Around 150 such employees have pledged to donate plasma for clinical management of the Covid-infected.
Hospitals, such as Apollo Gleneagles, Medica Superspecialty and RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, have used the therapy on a few patients so far. But doctors and the health department have warned against indiscriminate use of such therapy.
“I tested positive for Covid-19 in mid-May and was in home isolation. I’m very happy that our hospital has taken up such an initiative. I’m ready to donate plasma to help others,” said Sushmita Mondal, a nurse who has now recovered.
Ritam Chakraborty, transfusion medicine specialist who heads the department of transfusion medicine and blood bank at AMRI, Dhakuria, said, “We shall use an advanced cell separator machine to extract plasma from donors through the apheresis method, which is currently the only government-notified way of extracting plasma in West Bengal.”
“There have been cases where it was seen that a patient, who was not responding to the usual treatment process, had shown signs of improvement through plasma therapy,” said Rupak Barua, CEO, AMRI Hospitals.
“There is so much hype about the therapy that patients’ relatives ask for the therapy. Doctors, however, should restrain from using the therapy randomly,” said a doctor of another private hospital.
