First coronavirus patient to receive UP plasma therapy dies of heart attack

Convalescent plasma therapy is an experimental procedure for the treatment of patients with COVID-19. (Source: Getty Images)

The first patient to receive plasma therapy as an experimental treatment for coronavirus infection in Uttar Pradesh died after a heart attack on Saturday.

The patient, a 58-year-old doctor, entered King George Medical University (KGMU) here. The doctor, who had been on the ventilator for the past 14 days, died Saturday night after a heart attack, KGMU vice chancellor M L B Bhatt said.

Because he had high blood pressure and diabetes, he was under continuous observation by doctors in the isolation room, Bhatt said. The patient was in a stable condition. His lungs had improved, but then he developed a urinary tract infection. Two reports of his samples came out negative today (for COVID-19), the vice chancellor said.

He, however, suffered a heart attack around 5 p.m. Despite all efforts, he could not be saved, he said. On April 26, the Orai doctor in Uttar Pradesh received plasma therapy at the state KGMU. He administered the plasma donated by a Canadian doctor who was the first COVID-19 patient admitted to the hospital and then recovered.

Tulika Chandra, from the Blood Transfusion Department, KGMU said: “When the patient received plasma therapy, his condition was very bad. Her lungs, however, improved. But since he was an elderly patient with diabetes, they kept him on the ventilator. “

Convalescent plasma therapy is a experimental procedure to treat patients with COVID-19. In this treatment, plasma, a blood component, from a healed patient is transfused into a seriously ill coronavirus patient. The blood of a person who has recovered from COVID-19 develops antibodies to fight the virus. This therapy uses antibodies from the blood of a cured patient to treat another critically ill patient.

However, the Union Ministry of Health had advised against considering therapy as a regular treatment for conronavirus, adding that it should be used for research and trial purposes until there is solid scientific evidence to support its efficacy.

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