Critically ill coronavirus patient administered ‘experimental’ plasma therapy in Hyderabad

A critically ill coronavirus patient in Hyderabad has been administered an experimental therapy injecting convalescent plasma for passive immunisation to treat the illness, reports emerged on Sunday.

The breakthrough was confirmed by Dr Aftab Hussain Phull—the focal person of the isolation ward of Liaquat University Hospital.

The plasma administered to the patient under treatment was donated by a recovered COVID-19 patient to Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences’ Diagnostic and Research Laboratory.

“He was given the plasma after managing his condition as best as possible under the given circumstances,” Dr Aftab said.

Earlier, Sindh government on April 30 had permitted three hospitals in the province to execute clinical trials for the “experimental use of Covid-19 convalescent plasma for passive immunisation”.

Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital in Karachi, the National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD) in Karachi and LUH, a government healthcare facility in Hyderabad was among the hospitals the provincial government approved.