Delhi Sets up Plasma Bank, Will be Helpful Until COVID-19 Vaccine Comes, Says Arvind Kejriwal | All You Need to Know

By calling 1031 or by sending a WhatsApp message on 8800007722, one can register to donate plasma.

Published: July 2, 2020 12:24 PM IST

By India.com News Desk | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh

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दिल्ली के सीएम केजरीवाल

Delhi Plasma Bank: Expressing hope over the reduced number of the daily death toll in the national capital, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said plasma therapy will be helpful until Corona vaccine is developed. Inaugurating the first plasma bank, the CM deliberated on the modalities of donating or receiving plasma.

The bank is being set up at the Delhi government-run Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) and doctors or hospitals will have to approach it if plasma is required for treatment of a COVID-19 patient. In this process, the antibodies from the recovered person’s body get transferred to the patient. The move comes as convalescent plasma therapy has shown “encouraging” results in city hospitals. Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain was reportedly administered with plasma therapy.

In plasma therapy, the plasma of a person who has been cured of Coronavirus is taken and administered to a patient’s body. The facility where the plasma will be drawn from one person to donate to a COVID-19 patient has been set up on the serving floor of the ILBS.

The plasma itself can be stored in the blood bank facility in a separate pack. According to experts, plasma needs cryogenic storage at minus 80 degrees Celsius or less.

How to donate plasma

By calling 1031 or by sending a WhatsApp message on 8800007722, one can register to donate plasma. After the number of the prospective donor is registered, doctors will call him or her to examine whether the donor is fit for donation. Those who want to receive plasma therapy should not contact these numbers individually. They will have to approach the health department through their doctors.

“Each person can donate 250-500 ml of plasma. We give the first dosage of 250 ml to the recipient and, if needed, the second dosage of 250 ml after 24 hours,” a senior doctor at a Delhi government hospital said.

If a donor had given only 250 ml of plasma once, he or she can donate another 250 ml of it after a few days, the doctor said.

Asked what are the pre-conditions for a donor to be considered fit for plasma donation, he said, the donor should not have any co-morbidities, and should not be suffering from HIV, hepatitis or renal problems.

Plasma is separated from the blood of a donor using a plasmapheresis machine.

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