In a positive development in treatment of people suffering from coronavirus in Pakistan, Lahore’s Services Hospital has started treating virus-infected patients with plasma taken from people who have defeated the deadly virus in recent weeks.
Prof Dr Sajid Nisar, Prof Dr Kamran Cheema, Dr Sobia Qazi and Dr Fatima Khanum are members of the Plasma Therapy Committee, which is contacting the people who recovered from the virus recently.
Dr Fatima said that plasma would be separated from the blood of the people who have defeated coronavirus and stored only for treatment of patients who would be brought to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital in a critical condition.
Plasma therapy has been introduced at some hospitals in Pakistan at a time when a good number of people suffering from coronavirus has started recovering from the infection.
On Tuesday, Lahore’s Mayo Hospital discharged 21 coronavirus patients after they recovered fully from the virus. Those who were discharged from the hospital said they were provided the best treatment facilities at the hospital.
In yet another positive development, Abid, the first prisoner to test positive for coronavirus at Lahore’s Camp Jail, has defeated the virus. He has been sent back to the prison to do the remainder of his sentence.
On April 14, the number of patients recovering from coronavirus in Pakistan increased to 1,387, with Punjab taking the lead with 508 recoveries out of the total 2,881 cases. As the number of total confirmed cases rose to 5,859 in Pakistan on Tuesday evening, the percentage of people recovering from the virus in Punjab stood at 18 percent.
The number of recovered patients in Sindh is 427 out of the total 1,518 confirmed cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 153 out of 800 cases, Balochistan 124 out of 248 cases, Gilgit-Baltistan 155 out 233 cases, Federal Capital 15 of 131 cases and Azad Kashmir 04 out of 48 cases.
As Pakistan has seen a steady increase in the number of coronavirus patients since February 26 when the first case was reported in Karachi, most parts of the country have been under a partial or complete lockdown over the last few weeks. The total number of deaths in Pakistan as of April 14 stood at 100.