New Delhi: Punjab will begin its maiden trial with a first of its kind plasma therapy to cure a COVID 19 infected patient. The doctors of a private hospital in Ludhiana will be using the treatment on a police personnel who was infected with the virus.

According to reports by IANS, government doctors are supporting the medical team of S.P.S. Hospital in Ludhiana that has decided to go for plasma therapy, or immunoglobulin therapy for Assistant Commissioner of Police Anil Kohli, who tested positive for the virus.

In Convalescent Plasma Therapy, the liquid part of blood is collected from patients who are cured of infection as it contains antibodies that might help fight the infection. This plasma is then injected onto an infected person. Use of convalescent plasma was also studied in outbreaks of other respiratory infections, including the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic, 2003 SARS-CoV-1 epidemic, and the 2012 MERS-CoV epidemic.

In Punjab doctors on Saturday will try to cure the COVID-19 patient by using plasma of another cured young volunteer patient.  In a tweet, Special Chief Secretary K.B.S. Sidhu, who is in-charge to monitor state-wide coronavirus cases said that, “District administration Mohali is dispatching one young fully recovered/cured COVID patient to SPS/Apollo Hospital Ludhiana. His plasma may be used to try and cure the other COVID positive patients by plasma therapy.” He also added that the therapy will work only if the volunteer is IgG positive. IgG is a class of immunoglobulins which is the most common type of antibody found in the human body and it helps in destroying disease-causing pathogens that have entered the body.

A decision to go ahead for plasma therapy was taken by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh a day earlier while reviewing the COVID-19 situation in the state. Reports say that the family of the police officer, who is admitted in Ludhiana's Apollo hospital, has given permission for the therapy, for which the state is coordinating with potential plasma donors.

India's apex health research body, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has already given nod for plasma therapy across the country and Kerala was the first state to plan trails. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced on April 16 that city has got the Central government's approval to carry out clinical trials of plasma enrichment techniques to help critically ill coronavirus patients and will start it in the next three to four days.