Rohit Shishodia
Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain has said that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) should not remove plasma therapy from the guidelines for the management of Covid-19. Jain has pointed out that many people, including himself, have been saved through plasma therapy.

Jain’s comments have come just a day after ICMR, in a study, found plasma therapy ineffective in managing the deadly disease. The study has been accepted by the British Medical Journal. ICMR Director General Dr Balram Bhargava had earlier said that the therapy is likely to be the standard treatment protocol for management of the disease.

“Lives of more than 2000 people including mine have been saved through plasma therapy. Even the US has said that it is beneficial,” said Jain while interacting with the media.

It may be noted that the Delhi government has been very supportive of managing the disease through plasma therapy. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has appealed to people to donate plasma to save Covid patients.

The Delhi government had opened India’s first plasma bank in the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences and the second one in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, both in the national capital.