Punjab has received the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) nod for the clinical trial of convalascent plasma therapy on COVID-19 patients, according to officials on May 3.

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The Chief Minister had allowed use of this therapy when the Assistant Commissioner of Police got coronavirus infection and was admitted to SPS Hospital in Ludhiana. The state government had provided all support and former PGIMER Director K.K. Talwar had organised the professional guidance, but the Commissioner's condition deteriorated before the therapy could be tried out. The matter was, however, pursued and a proposal was sent to the ICMR for formal approval, a government spokesperson told IANS.

As the ICMR had given its nod, the trial was expected to start shortly, said the Additional Chief Secretary. The Government Medical Colleges in Amritsar and Patiala, the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot, Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Amritsar and Christian Medical College and Hospital, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital and Satguru Partap Singh Hospital, all in Ludhiana, have joined hands for the clinical trial of convalescent plasma therapy.

The inter-institution coordination will be done by principal investigators, who will also ensure that the trial is conducted in strict accordance with the ICMR protocol at each institution. The Secretary said a memorandum of understanding has been signed by the principal investigators, including Aikaj Jindal, head of the Department of Transfusion Medicine with S.P.S. Hospital in Ludhiana; and M. Joseph John, Head of the Department of Clinical Hematology with Christian Medical College and Hospital.