Staff Reporter :
The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) has been collected plasma from 130 recovered Covid-19 patients since Monday to conduct Convalescent Plasma Therapy, an experimental treatment method for the novel coronavirus infection.
The hospital authority has applied for plasma for experimental treatment of 50 patients.
The DMCH Director, Brigadier General AKM Nasir Uddin disclosed it on Monday.
He said, so far, 130 patients who recovered from coronavirus have voluntarily donated plasma. Among them, plasma has been given to the bodies of 50 patients who were admitted in the DMCH.
Rest of the plasma has been given to patients of various government hospitals.
Many people including businessman, journalist, doctors and nurses have donated plasma voluntarily. Many patients have recovered from the on plasma therapy, he added.
Earlier, on May 16, this activity was started by collecting plasma from three doctors who fully recovered from Covid-19.
Dr. AKM Nasir Uddin inaugurated the collection of plasma on the second floor of the new building.
DMCH director said, “The world is infected with coronavirus. We are also affected. Dhaka Medical College Hospital started plasma collection with the approval of the Ministry of Health. We started with three doctors who recovered it. Since then, many have given plasma and are still giving.”
Head of the Plasma Therapy Sub-Committee and of the Department of Hematology at DMCH Professor Dr. MA Khan commented that a definite policy is needed to spread the benefits of this plasma therapy across the country.
He said, “We can spread the benefits of plasma therapy or its activities all over the country by the National Expanded Access Program.”
“The Health Department has to proceed with a plan for this,” he said.
The government on April 17 formed the national technical subcommittee for plasma treatment under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
On April 28, the Blood Transfusion Department of the DMCH decided to explore the convalescent plasma therapy option to treat Covid-19 patients and was directed by DGHS to supervise other hospitals across the country in this regard.
