19-year-old design engineer becomes first plasma donor in Noida
19-year-old design engineer Neha Jha on Monday became the first patient to donate her plasma for the convalescent plasma therapy after recovering from coronavirus
19-year-old design engineer Neha Jha on Monday became the first patient to donate her plasma for the convalescent plasma therapy after recovering from coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
The design engineer is an employee of fire solutions company Ceasefire —which is responsible for at least 44 coronavirus cases in Gautam Budh Nagar. Jha donated her plasma at the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Greater Noida. According to officials at GIMS, a total of four patients who have recovered from Covid-19 will donate their plasma for the experimental procedure.
“We are extremely thankful to Neha for donating her plasma, as it can prove helpful in treating critically ill patients. She is the first one who has donated plasma in our hospital, but there are other recovered patients, who are willing to donate their plasma. The plasma can help in treating Covid-19 patients as it can increase the fighting capacity of their immune systems. We will soon collect plasma from other patients, and use it for treating patients,” Dr Rakesh Gupta, director, GIMS, said.
Jha was admitted to GIMS on March 26, and had tested Covid-19 positive on March 29. After she recovered from the deadly disease, she was discharged from the government hospital on April 22.“I decided to donate my plasma because I want to help others against coronavirus. I want to tell people that if one is mentally strong and motivated, then defeating the virus is not very difficult. Doctors at GIMS kept us motivated through counselling sessions and regular interactions,” she said. Jha is a resident of Sector 27, and working at Ceasefire— where she got infected with Covid-19— was her first job experience.
Meanwhile, doctors GIMS and all officials handling the Covid-19 outbreak are all set to create a plasma bank at the Greater Noida facility.
Narendra Bhooshan, chief executive officer, Greater Noida authority, who is also the district in-charge of handling Covid-19 efforts, said the plasma bank can help in treating serious Covid-19 cases at GIMS in the future.
“We have expressed our gratitude to Neha for being brave and coming forward to donate her plasma. She is a corona warrior in the true sense because after defeating the disease she is helping others to fight it. With the plasma bank treating patients in future at GIMS and other hospitals can be easier,” said Bhooshan, who thanked Neha via a video call.
GIMS officials said they have received the green signal to start clinical trials for convalescent plasma therapy
“We will give the plasma to critically ill Covid-19 patients. One plasma donor can help many others in getting this treatment. The plasma therapy involves taking antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from Covid-19 and transfusing those antibodies into an active Covid-19 patient to help initiate the immune system to fight the infection,” Dr. Gupta said.
So far, a total of 135 patients, out of 224 Covid-19 cases, have been cured in Gautam Budh Nagar. Two patients have died in the district so far.
