Plasma airlifted from Bengaluru, given to Covid-19 patients in Kashmir

Convalescent plasma from a private hospital in Bengaluru was airlifted to Srinagar and transfused into two Covid-19 patients there, all in a matter of hours on Tuesday.

The plasma units were transported as cargo on an IndiGo passenger flight from Bengaluru to Delhi and thence to Srinagar via a connecting flight. The journey took eight hours, including the transit time in Delhi.

The recipients were a 61-year-old woman undergoing treatment at the Chest Diseases Hospital, Srinagar, and a 62-year-old male patient at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, also in Srinagar, according to the Head of the Department of Translational Medicine at HCG Hospital, Bengaluru, which had stored the convalescent plasma.

"We did find a match in Srinagar but the antibody titers take time and the donors had to come from their respective villages. To buy time, the plasma was airlifted. The patient was administered the plasma by 3 pm on Tuesday but she is very critical. The other patient is doing better. A nominal charge was levied for the transport," said the doctor from HCG hospital.

The Food and Drug Administration, US, authorised the use of plasma therapy in moderate, severe and critically ill Covid patients that can yield results of up to 100%, 80% and 60%, respectively. Earlier intervention with plasma therapy in patients would be ideal to save more lives.

An IndiGo spokesperson said: "This was a passenger flight and this cargo was carried aboard. Captain Rahul Srivastava coordinated between the doctor and IndiGo to enable this delivery. He did not fly the plane which carried the cargo though. The plasma units were carried for free."