These are the 21 hospitals approved by ICMR to conduct clinical trials of convalescent plasma on COVID-19 patients

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has begun clinical trials of convalescent plasma treatment.
  
• The biomedical research body has shortlisted 21 hospitals across the country to initiate trials on critically-ill COVID-19 patients.
  
• Plasma treatment involves injecting the Covid-19 patient with the blood plasma of people who recovered from the infection.
  
• Five of these hospitals are in Maharashtra alone, 16 selected hospitals have been finalised from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana and Chandigarh.
  
• Another 90 hospitals — including AIIMS, Indraprastha Apollo and Max hospital in Delhi are under consideration.

As the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) begins clinical trials of convalescent plasma therapy, the biomedical research body has shortlisted 21 hospitals across the country to initiate trials on critically-ill COVID-19 patients.

"The ICMR has initiated a multi-centre clinical trial, titled 'A Phase II, Open-Label, Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Safety and Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma to Limit COVID-19 Associated Complications in Moderate Disease (PLACID Trial)'," the apex health research body said.

Plasma treatment involves injecting the Covid-19 patient with the blood plasma of people who recovered from the infection. Those cured already have antibodies that drive the virus away. They can be used to do the same for another patient. Researches reveal that it can help boost the immune system of the infected.

While five of these hospitals are in Maharashtra alone, 16 selected hospitals have been finalised from Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Telangana and Chandigarh.


Another 90 hospitals — including AIIMS, Indraprastha Apollo, Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, Lady Hardinge Medical College, RML Hospital, Max Hospital-Saket and Indian Red Cross Society in Delhi are under consideration.

According to the guidelines by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI), the donors can only be those who have recovered and have had a 28-day symptom-free period. These donors can donate up to 1,000 ml of blood plasma in a month.

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