Centre drops plasma therapy from COVID-19 treatment guidelines

NEW DELHI: The Government of India announced the revised clinical guidance for COVID-19 treatment , on Monday, May 17, and its decision to drop the off-label use of convalescent plasma. This was done because plasma therapy has been found to not be beneficial in reducing the severity of coronavirus. Plasma therapy includes transfusion of COVID-19 antibodies from the blood of a recovered patient to the one being treated. This decision came after a meeting of Indian Council of Medical Research -National Task Force for COVID-19, which took place on May 14. In the meeting, all members were in favor of removing the use of plasma therapy from the ‘Clinical Guidance for Management of Adult COVID-19 Patients’ citing its ineffectiveness against combating the disease.

Previously under the guidelines, doctors were allowed to use the off-label plasma therapy at the early moderate stage of the disease, that is, within seven days from the onset of symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Some clinicians and scientists had written to K Vijayraghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor, and had cautioned against the irrational and non-scientific use of convalescent plasma in COVID-19 cases in the country.