BAGALKOT: The first person in Bagalkot district to recover from Covid-19 after undergoing plasma therapy is likely to be discharged from hospital in a few days.The patient was treated at S Nijalingappa Medical College and Hanagal Shree Kumareshwar Hospital and Research Centre (SNMC and HSK), the only other institution apart from Karnataka Institute of Medical Science (KIMS) Hubballi to successfully conduct plasma therapy in North Karnataka.
Professor Dr Shreeram A Kora, head of the department of medicine at SNMC and HSK Hospital and Research Centre, told The New Indian Express, “Clinical trials were started after obtaining approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI). The first successful plasma treatment has been conducted on a 47-year-old male patient, who was severely ill, on August 17. When he was admitted, he was being treated in the ICU. After plasma therapy was administered, he began to respond and recovered completely. He will be discharged in a few days.”
Dr Kora said that convalescent plasma obtained from recovered Covid patients, who meet donor criteria, contains antibodies which can fight the disease. “These passively transfused antibodies help in fighting the virus until the patient develops immunity,” he said.
The first instance of plasma therapy in the district was that of a sexagenarian. The patient initially showed signs of recovery, but succumbed to other illnesses, Dr Kora said.District Health Officer Dr Ananth Desai said that after Dharwad, Bagalkot was the second district to succeed in plasma therapy treatment in North Karnataka. “The successful trial has come as a big relief to us. We can conduct more trials on severely -ill patients by coordinating with private hospitals. We are also creating awareness among recovered patients to donate plasma,” Desai said. BVV Sangha Chairman and MLA Veeranna Charantimath congratulated the doctors, and urged recovered Covid patients to donate plasma.