'All Patients Don't Need Plasma' - Doctors Amid Shortage; Remdesivir Not Life-Saver: Centre

While there is a shortage of plasma, doctors insist that plasma therapy is not the only option for COVID patients, as per TOI. According to them, not all COVID patients require it.

¡°Plasma is not the primary therapy for Covid-19 patients. It should be used in conjunction with standard protocol drugs for treating the infection. Also, not everyone is a candidate for the therapy. A person who is already on a ventilator or has multiorgan failure will not benefit from it,¡± said Dr Sarin, the director of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences.

PTI

What's going on?

Plasma therapy is the process of taking antibodies from the blood of someone who has recovered from COVID and transfusing it into a novel coronavirus-infected patient to help kick-start his immune system. There have been multiple studies to assess its efficacy in reducing morbidity and mortality risk in COVID patients.

¡°It can be given to patients with early in the disease course, meaning prior to respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilator,¡± said Dr Meenu Bajpai, professor of transfusion medicine and in-charge of Delhi Plasma Bank at ILBS.

Meanwhile, the centre has clarified that Remdesivir is not a life-saving drug and its "unnecessary or irrational" use on Covid patients is unethical, as per a report in NDTV.

PTI

What are the conditions?

"It must never be administered in-home settings," was the warning from the Union Health Ministry.

"It is important to understand that it is no magic bullet and it does not reduce mortality. It is used because we do not have a good antiviral drug...Remdesivir was proven useful for those in hospitals and on oxygen...it can't be taken like a regular antibiotic," said AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria.

The recent surge in cases has seen the country struggle to combat with the pandemic.