10 plasma donors in Pune city as of July 12

People who have fully recovered from Covid-19 have immunisers in their plasma that can combat the virus

The repeated appeal by the district administration for plasma donation has been met with a lukewarm response, at best, in Pune.

health worker of Pune district council collects a swab sample from a man to test for COVID-19 infection at BJS hostel, in Wagholi, Pune. (Pratham Gokhale / Hindustan Times)

Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar states that only 10 cured Covid-19 patients in the city have donated plasma, as of July 12.

People who have fully recovered from Covid-19 have immunisers in their plasma that can combat the virus.

This patient plasma is being evaluated as a treatment for patients with severe Covid-19 infection, or those found by a healthcare provider to be at high risk of improvement to critical diseases.

Mhaisekar said, “Ten people have donated plasma and I am really thankful to them. Although this figure can change as we received more queries after my appeal to the citizens of Pune. The state government has a policy where the plasma will be used to treat critical as well as mild patients who are on the verge of recovery. I do not think that there is any need of having a fear of weakness within recovered individuals of Covid-19. If they come forward, they can save a life and they should not hesitate for plasma donation as it is just like blood donation. We have created a database in Sassoon hospital where we have categorised every blood type like a plasma bank for more organised records of these donations.”