The Clinical Study Committee of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) gives approval for plasma study on Covid-19 patients.The Shaukat Khanum Hospital Lahore in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) will conduct Solidarity Clinical Studies at five sites, including Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad, Shifa International Hospital, Agha Khan University Hospital and Indus Hospital on Covid-19 patients.
DRAP gives approval for plasma study on Covid-19 victims.Dr. Tahir Shamsi was given approval for plasma study at the Pathology Department, Hayatabad Medical Peshawar Complex, while PIMS was also given approval after a long discussion of Protect International trial along with Pro Javed Akram, University of Health Sciences Lahore.
The development follows the Liaquat University Hospital one of three clinically approved trial centers for convalescent plasma in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province — confirming that it was treating a 53-year-old COVID-19 patient with the help of plasma therapy.
The process involves using the plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients, who have antibodies in their blood, to fight the disease.
The NHS established clinical trials across the country and requested COVID-19 patients who recovered from the disease to donate their plasma.
Another example, Shamsi said, is the US, which has also launched clinical trials for passive immunization programs, with a large number of individuals registering themselves for plasma donations.
Dr. Saqib Hussain Ansari, a hematologist at the NIBD, urged more people to emulate the UK and US by donating blood.
“In Pakistan, blood donation is not in fashion, but organizations involved in blood donation motivation, celebrities, and spiritual leaders can play a key role in spreading awareness,” he said.
Ansari added that passive immunization is not a new medical treatment and has been in practice for the past 125 years. “In the recent past, plasma therapy was used to cure patients of Ebola virus and influenza,” he said.