Noida falls short on plasma, rarely any donors

Plasma banks in the city are running dry as very few donors have come forward, even as demand for the treatment is increasing

 Plasma banks in the city are running dry as very few donors have come forward, even as demand for the treatment is increasing.

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Plasma therapy involves removing antibody-containing plasma from the blood of a recently recovered Covid-19 patient and pumping it into a sick patient.

Dr Satyam Arora, associate professor (research and transfusion medicine) at SSPHPGTI has been actively circulating messages and videos on social media to help encourage people to come forward to donate plasma. “In the past two weeks, the demand for plasma has surged heavily. However, there are barely any voluntary plasma donations. We receive over 10 requests from people looking for plasma but are able to fulfil the request of only 3 or 4 such people in a day. This is only after the attendant brings a donor of another blood group and then we exchange the plasma for the required blood group. Amidst this, there is nothing left for the bank as there are no voluntary plasma donations,” he said.

Gautam Budh Nagar police commissionerate launched a plasma bank on April 18 and tied up with Child PGI hospital to act as a bridge between plasma donors and those who require it. However, since it launched, only five civilians have come forward to donate plasma while over 400 requests have been registered at its helpline.

“While five civilians came forward to donate, we could only take plasma from four of them as one of them was ineligible. From the police force, five personnel have donated plasma. The numbers are low because the eligibility criteria is that they should be recovered between March-April and the number is low. However, we are still under process to screen more personnel who will be eligible to donate,” said Meenakshi Katyayan, DCP, Gautam Budh Nagar Police.

She added that those who have recovered between January to end of March this year are eligible to donate plasma. Between January 15, 2021 (24952 total recoveries) and April 15, 2021 (25703 total recoveries), 751 patients from Gautam Buddh Nagar district have recovered from coronavirus.

She added that currently 85 police personnel are infected with Covid-19 and the officials hope that once they recover, they will donate to the plasma bank.

The situation is similar at Sharda Hospital in Greater Noida as well. As per officials, the plasma bank here has not had any voluntary plasma donations since January. “In the last two weeks, many of hospital doctors who had recovered from Covid ended up donating plasma to save lives of Covid patients,” said Dr Ajit Kumar, spokesperson from Sharda Hospital, Greater Noida.

He added that the plasma banks are rendered empty as to treat Covid patients today, plasma is required from a patient who has recovered anywhere between January to April 1.

“Since Covid cases were very less at that time, hence not many people are even eligible to donate. However we hope Covid patients that leave after recovering shall come back to donate after 15 days in order to help others recover,” he said.

Manish Kumar, a resident of Greater Noida west who has been helping friends and family arrange plasma for Covid patients, said that many are not coming forward to donate because of a scare of Covid. “To donate plasma, a person has to spend over 2 hours at a hospital. These days with Covid cases rising and happening to those too who had it earlier, voluntary donations are becoming lesser and lesser,” he said.

The medical community, however, is divided over the efficacy of the treatment.

“A patient benefits from plasma therapy if the he/she requires oxygen and his/her duration of illness is less than 10 days. The idea of Plasma donation is that we are transferring readymade antibodies in a sick person who’s own body will take time to make its own,” said Dr Mrinal Sircar, Director - Pulmonology & Critical Care, Fortis Hospital, Noida.

“Studies have shown that plasma therapy has a limited role and is not of much use,” Dr Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, had said earlier.