The Delhi government will create a plasma bank to fight coronaviruses, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said this afternoon, urging those who have recovered from the infection to donate plasma to help other patients. He also assured that the state government would arrange transportation to the plasma bank for those wishing to donate.
“Delhi government to set up plasma bank, I ask people to donate plasma to save the lives of COVID-19 patients,” Kejriwal said at a press conference, adding that the bank of plasma would operate in the capital in the next two working days. He said the state government has so far conducted clinical trials of plasma therapy on 29 patients with coronavirus, and the result was encouraging.
“I ask everyone (who has recovered from a coronavirus) that it is rare that you can save lives. I ask you to introduce yourself and make a donation. This is the true service of God”, said the Prime Minister.
The plasma bank, which will be located at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Science in Vasant Kunj, south Delhi, will serve as the coordination between donors and recipients of plasma, said Kejriwal.
“If you go there (plasma bank) to make a donation, there is no risk. We will organize a means of transport for you to go there and make a donation. We will announce the figures in a few days for this system, “said Arvind Kejriwal.
He said that a helpline will be set up by the government for requests related to plasma donation.
One of the most widely discussed methods of treating the disease caused by the new coronavirus is plasma therapy, which involves the transfusion of plasma from a convalescent coronavirus patient to a critical patient. The blood of a recovering patient is rich in antibodies produced by the body to fight the virus, which should help the critical patient to recover.
Delhi – the state with the second highest number of coronavirus cases in India – has experienced a disturbing increase in cases in the past two weeks. Delhi recorded 2,889 new infections and 65 deaths on Sunday, bringing the state’s death toll to 83,077 cases.
Delhi reported the first successful plasma therapy in India when a 49-year-old man who had received treatment for the coronavirus had been removed from the ventilation system. Plasma therapy clinical trials began in Delhi in April.
The center had called it an experimental procedure and said there was “no concrete evidence to support plasma therapy as a treatment for coronaviruses.” However, patients with COVID-19 have been reported to recover after undergoing treatment.
During his press briefing, Mr. Kejriwal also announced a sum of Rs. 1 crore for the family of Dr. Asheem Gupta who died on Sunday of a coronavirus. Dr Gupta worked in a COVID-19 hospital in Delhi.
