HMC starts treating COVID-19 patients with plasma therapy
PESHAWAR: Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) has become first ever hospital in the province which has started treatment of COVID-19 patients with infusion of blood plasma of survivors of the infectious disease.
HMC has formally signed an accord with National Institute of Blood Disease Karachi for getting donation of plasma from COVID-19 recovered patients and use it as treatment for other affected patients, said Medical Director HMC Dr Shahzad Akbar.
The KP Government has constituted a committee headed by In-charge Hematology Department of HMC Professor Shah Taj Khan that would ensure arrangements for plasma process at laboratory and its availability and other facilities.
He said doctors have found tentative evidence that seriously ill coronavirus patients can benefit from infusions of blood plasma collected from people who have recovered from the disease, adding that a team of experts is currently looking into various options of treatment of COVID-19 under supervision of doctors.
The most encouraging thing was that the first volunteer donor who had donated his plasma was Dr Suleman of Cardiology Department of HMC who was affected by coronavirus during corona duty and had recovered.
The other volunteer donor was also an official of the hospital Alamgir Khan who contracted the infectious disease during his duty at the hospital and later got recovered.
Medical Director HMC Dr Shahzad Akbar highly appreciated the staff of HMC for their generous donation and said that it would save many precious lives.
He appealed general public who got recovered from the disease to come forward and donate their plasma in the fight against corona. He said it is totally safe to donate plasma for other patients. - APP