Renowned haematologist Dr Saqib Ansari on Thursday announced that the first coronavirus patient in Pakistan, Yahya Jafri, has donated his plasma to the Children's Hospital Karachi for the treatment of critical patients of the virus.
Addressing a press conference at the hospital along with Jafri, his parents and a famous cricketer Roman Rais, Dr Saqib Ansari demanded of the government to give the go-ahead to use plasma for the treatment of the patients.
"We need no funds, no machinery or workforce as the Children's Hospital Karachi is ready to offer its services free of cost," the seasoned hematologist said while talking about the potential treatment of coronavirus patients.
He said that the process of acquiring and processing of the plasma cost Rs20,000 each and the hospital is ready to bear the cost for the betterment of humanity.
Dr Ansari said that currently his team is working on three fronts to handle the coronavirus pandemic: limit the outbreak, treatment of patients and control the panic among society.
He termed Jafri as a hero of the nation and paid a rich tribute to his parents for their courage and resolve against the pandemic.
Talking about the recent advancement, he said that along with several antibiotics and other therapies, the plasma of those recovered patients affected by the virus in the past is being used in several parts of the developed world.
Based on the latest study in Beijing in collaboration with the world's leading research institutes, he said that plasma infusion in critical patients of Coronavirus has yielded excellent results.
Referring to the Food and Drug Agency (FDA) of the United States, the World Health Organization and other reputable institutions, he said that the method is being used across the world for the treatment of critical patients of the disease. He highlighted the example of the US where the FDA has publicly appealed to the recovered patients of Coronavirus to donate their plasma.
"Children's Hospital Karachi and Houston Methodist Hospital of the US are already collaborating with each other in this regard," he said, adding that Dr Fazal Mahmood of the hospital who is in the US is in touch with Dr Ansari and both are closely monitoring the developments across the world in respect to the virus.
Dr Ansari added that the therapy is only being applied to critical patients of the virus. Almost 90 percent of the affected people get recovered without being admitted to intensive care units and only a thin fraction of the Coronavirus patients are admitted to ICUs. Such patients can be administrated the plasma and medical experts believe that the therapy will produce positive results, Dr Ansari said.
Talking about the local scenario, he said that till date 94 Coronavirus patients in Pakistan have recovered and out of the total almost half are women. He added that due to the possibility of some complications, donation of plasma is usually not taken from women. He made it clear that recovered patients in the age bracket of 18 to 50 can safely donate their plasma which can be used for the treatment of critical patients of Coronavirus. Plasma donation from a recovered patient is sufficient for the treatment of a critically ill victim of Coronavirus.
"Subjected to the permission from authorities, Children's Hospital Karachi is able to receive plasma from all recovered patients of the virus in Pakistan and process the donated plasmas within five days," he said.
He added that the required procedure for processing plasma can be carried out by those machines which used the same process for the treatment of dengue patients. He added that the facility and required workforce is already available in almost all public and private hospitals. All they need is basic training for the process, he added.
Yahya Jafri also addressed the press conference. In his message to the nation, the brave young man said: "In the near future, the virus will become history and all that will be remembered is our resolve and determination."
Cricketer Roman Rais also addressed the press conference and assured Dr Ansari of his cooperation against the Coronavirus. He hoped that the nation will defeat Coronavirus on the same pattern the national cricket team had defeated India in the Champion's trophy. He appealed to his fans and to the nation to have patience, stay at home and stay safe.