A 53-year-old male patient, the first to undergo plasma therapy in Maharashtra, passed away on April 29, said Dr Ravishankar, CEO Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai.

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The Maharashtra Health Minister had on April 28 said that plasma therapy is being used in the state on an experimental basis after getting approval from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). "I have not heard what exactly ICMR has suggested today on plasma therapy. But I know that we are doing it on an experimental basis after ICMR allowed us to do so. I want to tell you that we have seen good results on two patients," the Minister had said.

The ICMR had on April 28 said that currently there are no approved, definitive therapies for COVID-19. Convalescent plasma is one of several emerging therapies. However, there is no robust evidence to support it for routine therapy, the research body had said.

Cautioning about the risks of using plasma therapy, ICMR had noted that convalescent plasma therapy comes with its own share of technical challenges, like antibody titer testing. There are also several risks of using this therapy including life-threatening allergic reactions and lung injury.