Manipal Hospitals Launches Plasma Bank for COVID-19 Care Through Online Platform Amber Health

Emerging evidence on the optimal management of COVID-19 suggests that the plasma of a recovered patient contains antibodies that help fight the virus. This plasma extracted from recovered patients, when injected in a moderately ill patient can help boost immunity and prevent further COVID complications. Plasma therapy is being used widely in India, ever since its first successful human trial in May 2020.

The key objective of this drive is to make plasma therapy readily accessible to all COVID 19 patients seeking treatment in Manipal Hospitals and registered through AMBER HEALTH. To support the cause, Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road urges all COVID recovered patients to come forward and help those in need to win this battle against the pandemic.

Dr C Shivaram, Head-Transfusion Medicine, Manipal Hospitals, Old Airport Road said, “Plasma therapy has turned out to be the shield of defence that can fight COVID and is a good supplement to treatment modalities in use. To qualify as a plasma donor, a patient must be free from COVID 19 symptoms for at least 14 days.  Patients need not worry about their antibodies during donation as we collect only a small portion of the antibodies.  Additionally, in case of a re-infection by the COVID virus, the body can make antibodies very quickly within hours, because of the memory White cells (B cells) in the blood”.

Dr Ambuja, Associate Consultant Transfusion Medicine, Manipal Hospitals Old Airport Road Bangalore opined, “In the absence of a facility to test for neutralizing antibodies in the country, blood centres use indirect methods of IgG antibody estimation in a patient recovering from COVID about 14 days after infection”.

No other treatment suits all in the management of COVID 19. With no vaccines and specific treatment in sight, plasma therapy appears to be safe and promising treatment option for many patients suffering the global pandemic. However, research is still ongoing regarding its absolute benefit in severely ill patients.

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