Tauseef Khan, a resident doctor at KGMU who recently recovered from COVID-19 started his Ramzan by donating his plasma for the treatment of those still fighting the virus.  

"Dr D Himanshu of Medicine Department, who is looking after the treatment of COVID-19 patients, asked me if I wanted to become the first plasma donor (of KGMU). I immediately said yes as nothing could be greater than being able to save the life of a patient in the holy month of Ramzan," Khan said.

He said he observed his first 'roza' on Saturday and gave his blood after consulting clerics whether it is permissible to do so while fasting.

Head of Transfusion Medicine, KGMU, Tulika Chandra told PTI, "The work on administering medical treatment to COVID-19 patients through plasma therapy began on Saturday."

"In this context, the blood sample of Dr Tauseef Khan, a resident doctor who had recovered from COVID-19, was taken for testing. In the test, the condition of the antibodies was found quite good," she said.

Chandra said, "In the evening, the process of extracting plasma from his body started, and almost 500 millilitres of plasma was extracted. The process took almost one-and-half hour."

"The patient will be given 200 millilitres of plasma. In other words, plasma donated by one patient (who has recovered from COVID-19) can be used for the treatment of two patients. If there is no positive result after the first 200 millilitres of plasma has been infused, then another 200 millilitres is infused," she elaborated.

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently allowed states to start clinical trials of plasma therapy.

Several states like Kerala, Gujarat and Punjab have already started using it for treatment of coronvairus patients.