Plasma curing 17 patients in Ahmedabad, donations dry up

AHMEDABAD: If you have fully recovered from Covid-19, by donating your blood plasma you could save people currently fighting the infection.


Today, only 17 Covid patients in Ahmedabad are receiving the convalescent blood plasma treatment. The treatment is being offered at Civil Hospital and SVP Hospital.


These patients have responded well to treatment and are in various stages of recovery.

The treatment is being administered as part of a nationwide clinical trial led by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). Researchers are upbeat about the prospects as the treatment is helping save lives.

The government has launched massive campaigns urging people to wear masks and exhorting them to avoid stigmatizing misconceptions. A similar campaign is the need of the hour for blood plasma donations. The government should target the ignorance and fears that are preventing people from donating plasma. Technologies should be explored with which doctors can easily recover plasma from cured patients’ homes.TimesView

Sadly, of the 600-odd people who were cured of the disease in the city, only 35 agreed to donate plasma. The 600 were approached by doctors and counsellors. The appeals were made over the course of a month.

The majority of people who refused to donate plasma cited the stigma attached to the disease. Some expressed the misconceived fear of losing “strength” and “immunity”. Others said hospitals scared them or revealed that family members were not allowing them to donate.

The central government will soon announce the results of the countrywide plasma trials. So researchers and doctors in the city are making fervent appeals to the cured patients to come forward to help those in need. “Since these patients have fought the infection, their plasma contains Covid-19 antibodies,” said a senior doctor who is connected with the trials. “We require only a small amount of plasma. There is no loss of strength after donating.”

A donation is nothing short of national service, the doctor said.

A senior official in the state health department told TOI that the government is planning to set up a blood plasma bank. “That will be possible when the ICMR declares the results of multi-centre trials,” said the official.