Delhi patient responding well to plasma therapy, says hospital

New Delhi: A Covid-19 patient who underwent convalescent plasma therapy at Max Hospital in Saket, Delhi, has responded well to the treatment, the hospital said in a statement on Monday.

The 49-year-old male patient from Delhi, who had tested positive for coronavirus infection on April 4, has shown “progressive improvement”, said the hospital. “He was weaned off ventilator support on April 18. He has been shifted to a room with round-the-clock monitoring at present,” the hospital said. “He has started taking oral feed since Sunday and is faring well.”

Sandeep Budhiraja, group medical director, Max Healthcare, said the plasma therapy worked as a catalyst in speeding up recovery. He, however, said that the recovery cannot be totally attributed to the new therapy.


“We are delighted that the therapy worked well in his case, opening a new treatment opportunity during these challenging times. But it is important that we also understand that plasma therapy is no magic bullet. During the patient’s treatment at Max Hospital, Saket, other standard treatment protocols were followed and we can say that plasma therapy could have worked as a catalyst in speeding up his recovery,” said Budhiraja, who is also senior director, Institute of Internal Medicine.

“We cannot attribute 100% recovery to plasma therapy only, as there are multiple factors which carved his path to recovery.”

The patient was admitted to hospital with moderate symptoms, but his condition deteriorated and he had to be put on oxygen support.