Recovered police personnel to donate plasma in fight against Covid-19

Police personnel in Noida who had contracted the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) earlier and have now made full recoveries will donate their plasma to help others

Police personnel in Noida who had contracted the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) earlier and have now made full recoveries will donate their plasma to help others fight off the infection.

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In the district, a total of 50 police personnel have tested positive for coronavirus so far. Of these, 30 police personnel have recovered and 19 are currently going treatment for the infection. On June 27, a 57-year-old police constable with comorbidities had succumbed to the deadly virus.

“We have spoken to our recovered personnel and they are ready to donate their plasma which will be used for the convalescent plasma therapy. Based on the ICMR (Indian Medical Council of Medical Research) guidelines, plasma from a recovered patient can be used after 28 days for treating other patients. Personnel who have completed this period will start donating their plasma in a day or two,” Ankur Aggarwal, additional deputy commissioner of police (zone 2) and the nodal officer to handle Covid-related issues, said.

The convalescent plasma therapy, which is still in the experimental stage, entails taking plasma carrying carry virus-fighting antibodies from cured Covid-19 patients and injecting them in the blood of active coronavirus patients to boost the immune system’s response to the infection. Three facilities in the district—Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital & Post Graduate Teaching Institute (SSPHPGTI), and Sharda Hospital—are currently administering the therapy to Covid-19 patients.

Among the front runners for plasma donation from Noida police is the 42-year-old station house officer (SHO) of Sector 49 police station, Dharmendra Kumar Sharma. Sharma has tested positive for the disease on May 12 and after being cured of the infection, he was discharged on May 22.

“A total of nine personnel from our police station (Sector 49) had tested positive for Covid-19. We have all now recovered and have resumed our work. As soon as the 28-day period gets over, all police personnel will donate their plasma. Those who have completed the period will donate their plasma in a couple of days,” the SHO said.

The first case of Covid-19 in the Noida police was reported on May 5 when a sub-inspector with Dial 112 had tested positive. Aggarwal said most of the newer cases in the force who have tested positive are asymptomatic and are undergoing treatment at various facilities including the new L1 facility set up at Sector 125.

The police department’s resources have been stretched thin with nearly 30% of the force engaged with sealing work in over 300 containment zones in the district.

The Noida police have also been actively taking action against violators of the lockdown and section 144 in the district. So far nearly 10,000 people have been booked for lockdown violations in the district.