The Novel Coronavirus in the US, now the worst COVID19 hotspot, has claimed the lives of more than 40 US citizens of Indian origin and Indian nationals, most of who belong to Kerala and Gujarat. Recently, the friends and family members of Dr. Hari Bansal, an Indian American physician and community leader in Montgomery County (Pennsylvania), started seeking a convalescent plasma donor of B-positive blood type for his COVID19 treatment and recovery. Those who tested positive for COVID19 before 28 days or more and recovered showing no symptoms in the past 18 days or more can be plasma donors for the infected.
A plasma donor was required for another Indian American medical professional who was hospitalized due to COVID19 and put on a ventilator in the first week of April 2020. Dr. Mukul Chandra from Dayton, Ohio is an eminent cardiologist and director of the cardiac preventive care and research at Miami Valley Hospital. With the help of the medical fraternity and the community members, a convalescent plasma donor was found, and it proved to be lifesaving for Dr. Mukul Chandra.
The use of convalescent plasma donations from the fully recovered COVID19 patients in treating those with serious Coronavirus infections is an FDA approved treatment on a case to case basis. It has worked as a lifesaver in some critical COVID19 cases. That’s why the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has written a letter to President Trump, requesting him to develop the existing national registry of recovered COVID19 patients and create a bank of plasma donations from them for combating the rising incidence of Novel Coronavirus in the United States.
Signed by Dr. Suresh Reddy, the President of AAPI – the largest ethnic medical community in the USA – the letter also seeks to create a nationwide supply chain and implementation process for fast treatment of COVID19 patients. The letter thanked the US President “for guiding the FDA in launching a national effort to bring blood-related therapies for covid-19 patients in the most expedited manner.”
As the COVID19 graph of the US continues to trend upward and affect the nation financially and mentally, AAPI emphasized in the letter to the President “the benefits of giving convalescent plasma to covid-19 patients at an early stage before the onset of hypoxia and before intubation (the insertion of an artificial ventilation tube into the trachea to restore breathing).”
Plasma-based blood therapies are lifesaving alternatives to ventilator support that over 80% of COVID19 patients depend on for relaxed breathing. The more the number of plasma donations, the lesser the use of ventilators. Positive Coronavirus cases with acute respiratory distress outnumber ventilators in most parts of the US. By the time ventilators are available or COVID19 patients with respiratory problems are given ventilator support, 40-50% of them die. Besides, a constant inflow of high pressure oxygen into the tiny air sacs of the affected lungs can be damaging for patients, at times, according to medical experts. This is one of the whys New York has reported unusually high COVID19 death rates.
The letter from the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin urged Donald Trump to facilitate a countrywide drive of plasma donation from the fully recovered patients so that the time required for effective treatment can be shortened to save lives. Those who have absolutely recovered from the Novel Coronavirus infections have antibodies in the plasma of their blood. Currently, it is a most viable option for treatment of patients at high risk of COVID19 mortality.
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