The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Tuesday said that currently there are no approved, definitive therapies for COVID-19. Convalescent plasma is one of several emerging therapies. However, there is no robust evidence to support it for routine therapy, the research body said.
The statement is significant as various states including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra have started using plasma therapy for treating COVID-19 patients. In Delhi, the first patient, who was administered convalescent plasma therapy on compassionate grounds at Max Hospital has recovered fully.
In a series of tweets, the apex health research orgsation has said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also viewed it as an experimental therapy.
"Currently, there are no approved, definitive therapies for #COVID19. Convalescent plasma is one of the several emerging therapies. However, there is no robust evidence to support it for routine therapy. @US_FDA has also viewed it as an experimental therapy (IND)," ICMR tweeted.
Cautioning about the risks of using plasma therapy, ICMR further tweeted: "#COVID19 convalescent plasma therapy comes with its own share of technical challenges, like antibody titer testing. There are also several risks of using this therapy including life-threatening allergic reactions and lung injury."
The research body also informed that it has initiated a multi-centre clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of using this therapy.
"Given the serious uncertainties around #COVID19 convalescent plasma therapy, @ICMRDelhi has initiated a multi-centre clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of using this therapy in #COVID19 patients in India," reads a tweet on its official handle.
In another tweet, it said: "Despite the threat of #COVID19 #pandemic, there's a need to ensure the ethical integrity & establish the scientific basis of using #COVID19 convalescent plasma therapy in patients. #covidharegadeshjeetega."
( With inputs from ANI )