KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Health and Population is planning to use plasma therapy for the treatment of coronavirus infected patients.

According to Dr. Sameer Adhikari, the co-spokesperson of the Ministry of Health and Population, the ministry has directed a team of experts to prepare the directives to support plasma therapy for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

“The Ministry of Health is mulling over the use of plasma therapy for the treatment of coronavirus affected patients,” Dr. Adhikari said, “The experts from National Public Health Laboratory and other places are involved in making the directives for it, and most probably they will finish the draft and submit it soon, most probably by Tuesday.”

Once the directives on plasma therapy are completed, the process of treating COVID-19 patients using this technology shall start.

What is plasma therapy how it’s used for treatment of COVID-19?

According to one of the experts working on the directives meant to regulate plasma therapy for COVID-19 treatment, the convalescent plasma therapy is the method of treatment using antibodies from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient to treat those critically affected by the virus.

“The blood of a patient who has recovered from COVID-19 contains antibodies with the specific ability to fight novel coronavirus,” he added, “When a person has COVID-19, their immune system responds by creating antibodies, which attack the virus.”

According to Professor Arturo Casadevall, who is spearheading a project to use the therapy it’s a method based on the simple concept that patients who recover from an infectious disease produce antibodies that can protect against later infections.

“The concept is simple. Patients who recover from an infectious disease often produce antibodies that can protect against later infections with the same microbe,” Professor Casadevall said speaking about the process the plasma therapy involves, “This immunity can be transferred by giving serum to those at risk of infection.”

The medics in Nepal also are very optimistic about its effectiveness as this therapy has borne positive results in many countries who have tried it.

A doctor informed Khabarhub that Prashiddhi Shrestha, Kathmandu, the girl who got recently recovered from novel coronavirus, is ready to cooperate for the plasma treatment.

Nepal has been looking after the legal provisions to be amended for the practice of this therapy.

“Once the directives go complete the legal formalities, the plasma therapy will be practiced,” a doctor told Khabarhub maintaining anonymity, “The girl who recently recovered has readily agreed to cooperate in the process.”