ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management (NDMA) on Wednesday decided to treat coronavirus patients through blood plasma therapy, said Head of the National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD) Dr Tahir Shamsi.
Dr Shami said two lives can be saved via plasma of one recovered patient of coronavirus, adding that number of COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the country.
He said a person can again donate plasma after one week of first donation. 80 per cent of the coronavirus patients usually recover after plasma therapy.
Dr Shami said, “Now the appeal of plasma donation is of government not any institute.â€
On May 21, Dr Tahir Shamsi had appealed coronavirus patients who recovered from the infection to donate blood plasma.
Read more: No side effects reported in patients treated with plasma therapy: Shamsi
In his appeal, Dr Tahir Shamsi had said that there is an alarming increase in the number of critical patients admitted to hospitals.
“We are in dire need of donations from recovered coronavirus patients for passive immunization therapy,†he said adding that people from any blood group could donate plasma to them.
He had said that many lives could be saved from the plasma donated from recovered virus patients. Dr Tahir Shamsi urged those willing to donate plasma to contact via helpline number 0333-2976390.
