First plasma therapy patient recovers from COVID-19 in Sindh

• The patient was admitted to the LUH along with his wife and son, both of whom had also tested positive for the contagious disease.

The first Pakistani coronavirus patient, who was treated with plasma therapy at the Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) has fully recovered from the virus.

The patient, who hailed from Sanghar district but resided in Hyderabad, was admitted to the LUH along with his wife and son, both of whom had also tested positive for the contagious disease.

“The patient’s first sample was taken on May 13 and then another was collected on May 14 and both Alhamdolillah turned out to be negative,” Dr Aftab Hussain Phull told Dawn.

“We are now in the process of discharging him from Covid-9 isolation ward. But he will have to stay in the hospital’s medicine intensive care unit (ICU) in view of his co-morbidities,” he added.

Several COVID-19 patients are currently undergoing the plasma therapy after authorities allowed 350 patients to undergo such a clinical trial across the country.

The doctors, who treated the patient, has urged those who are fully recovered from the virus to donate blood for the treatment that uses plasma from people.

The development comes as Pakistan reported 31 more deaths from coronavirus, raising virus-related fatalities to 834.

Pakistan has 38,799 confirmed cases and the increase in infections also coincides with a growing number of daily tests being carried out in this country of 220 million.