In the backdrop of increasing demand for plasma therapy to be administered to COVID-19 patients, the Delhi government has decided to set up a plasma bank in an effort to allow for better availability of the blood component for people who require plasma therapy to recover from the viral infection.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced that the plasma bank, the first of its kind in the country, will be set up in the next two to three days. “In the past few days, we have been getting a number of calls seeking plasma... People are struggling to get plasma. In view of the situation, we have decided to set up a plasma bank in Delhi,” Kejriwal said.
The plasma bank will be set up at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, which comes under the Delhi government, and patients in both the state-run and private hospitals can procure plasma from the facility. Kejriwal said the decision was also guided by the encouraging results of the plasma therapy trials that were conducted in the capital. “Delhi was the first state in the country to conduct plasma therapy trials. We conducted a trial on 29 patients and the results were encouraging,” he said.
He said it has been seen that plasma therapy helps improve the oxygen saturation and respiratory rate in patients. Based on the results of the trial, the Centre had permitted plasma therapy as a line of treatment in both Delhi government and private hospitals in the city.
“To procure plasma from the bank, a prescription from the doctor or the hospital would be required,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal, however, said plasma therapy should not be seen as a miracle cure, and it is difficult to save patients who are critically ill. “It should not be seen as a Sanjeevani Booti,” he said, adding that it has been seen to be effective in patients who are moderately ill.
He said plasma therapy was administered to 35 patients at the Delhi government-run LNJP Hospital, and 34 of them recovered, while one died. At a major private hospital in the capital, 49 patients were given plasma therapy, and 46 of them were saved.
The chief minister appealed to people who have recovered from COVID-19 to come forward and donate plasma. “I appeal to you all with folded hands. This is an opportunity to save someone's life. This is true devotion to God,” he said.
The Delhi government will arrange for donors to be taken to the ILBS Hospital and back, said Kejriwal, adding that a number will be released in the next few days on which people who want to donate plasma can contact. “The Delhi government will also get in touch with people who have recovered and encourage them to come forward and donate plasma,” he said.
“There is no party baazi involved here. We have to save everyone from corona, irrespective of religion, caste or party affiliation,” he said.
On the situation with regard to availability of beds for COVID-19 patients, Kejriwal said now there was no dearth of beds. He said that around 13,500 beds were available, and only half of them were occupied.
Kejriwal also paid tribute to LNJP doctor Dr Aseem Gupta who died because of COVID-19. He said the government will give his family Rs 1 crore in his honour.
