City-based HCG Hospital has received the Central government's nod to conduct clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in COVID treatment, an official said on April 21.

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"HCG cancer hospital has received grant from Directorate General of Healthcare Services (DGHS), Government of India to begin clinical trial of proposed convalescent plasma therapy," said the hospital spokesperson in a statement.

Convalescent plasma therapy is being deployed as an experimental procedure to treat COVID patients with the plasma from recovered patients. "The idea behind this therapy is that immunity can be transferred from a healthy person to a sick patient using convalescent plasma. This therapy uses antibodies from the blood of a recovered coronavirus patient to treat another critical patient," said HCG's Associate Dean Vishal Rao.

According the permission, Drugs Controller General of India V. G. Somani, the licensing authority for the therapy, listed 19 conditions in his sanction order for HCG to be met for executing the therapy evaluation.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa congratulated Rao and others for receiving permission for the clinical trial. "Congrats to B. S. Ajai Kumar, Rao, Jyothsna and Gururaj Rao and everyone involved for receiving the okay by the Centre to begin testing on their 'plasma therapy'," he said in a tweet. "This is undoubtedly of significant importance for us all. Thank you and good luck HCG," said Yediyurappa.