Banking On Donors

With the launch of India’s first plasma bank, Delhi govt appeals to recovered Covid-19 patients to come forward for the cause. But finding donors may remain a daunting task as plasma donations depend on certain conditions. Many are also reluctant to donate fearing a relapse, reports Siddhanta Mishra

- Siddhanta Mishra

Vinod Kumar, a cab driver, faced a double whammy of the nationwide lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic in the last three months. First, Kumar had to keep his four-wheeler off the road following the strict movement restrictions for more than two months, and now, his worst fear has come true — his 63-year-old mother has tested positive for the coronavirus. For more than a week now, Kumar has been frantically looking for a plasma donor for his mother, who is admitted in a private hospital at north-west’s Shalimar Bagh.

The Sarita Vihar resident’s search was yet to be over till Sunday, even four days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 2 inaugurated India’s first plasma bank at state-run Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) for treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“I have been looking for a plasma donor for my mother. She urgently needs the therapy as the doctors have asked me to arrange the plasma at the earliest. Where should I go,” a seemingly exhausted Kumar says.

While inaugurating the bank, Kejriwal knew it would not be an easy task to convince donors. The plasma therapy depends on the willingness of recovered patients to donate plasma and finding willing donors has proved a tough prospect on the ground.

Plasma therapy, a technique that involves delivering antibodies to a person fighting the infection to increase his immune response, has been on at select hospitals in Delhi since April 22.

More than 100 patients have received plasma therapy till last week in the national city.