Until now, India's Covid-19 treatment protocol allowed off-label use of plasma therapy at the stage of early moderate disease, that is, within seven days of the onset of symptoms and if there is availability of a high titre donor plasma. Considering the task force's recommendation, the ICMR has dropped the use of convalescent plasma in the revised guidelines issued for clinical management of COVID-19. With the cases surging in the country, there has been a spur in the demand for plasma donors, even as experts raise concerns over the efficacy of plasma therapy for Covid-19 patients. "The current research evidence unanimously indicates that there is no benefit offered by convalescent plasma for treatment of COVID-19. In plasma therapy, antibodies from the blood of a patient who has recovered from COVID-19 are used to treat serious patients.

Source: dna May 18, 2021 00:56 UTC