The medical college in Manjeri in Malappuram district of Kerala was witness to a heartwarming scene on Saturday. On a day when the medical college successfully discharged its second COVID-19 patient, Ajit Kumar, who was administered plasma treatment, 22 people had come there to bid him goodbye. None of them knew Kumar, who is an ASI with the Delhi Police, but they had one thing in common—they all were COVID-19 patients at one point of time, and they were there at the hospital to donate their blood which can be used for plasma treatments.
These former COVID-19 patients—all natives of Malappuram district—were treated at the hospital at various points of time over the last four months.
“We maintain three WhatsApp groups for COVID-19 patients who got discharged from our hospital. We stay connected all the time. When I told them about the requirement for blood, they all turned up,'' Dr Shinaz Babu, nodal officer for COVID-19 at Medical College.
They said they wanted to “pay back,” said Dr Babu.
Ashiq Ali, 23, was one of them. He used to run a juice shop in Chennai and had returned to Kerala as the COVID-19 cases began to increase in his vicinity. He tested negative while he was in quarantine in Malappuram. “The way we were treated in the hospital was something we will never forget. Such was the care and concern shown by the doctors and other medical teams there. This is our small attempt to pay back their love,'' he told The WEEK.
“We all should stand together in our fight against the COVID-19,'' he added.
The WEEK had earlier reported about the first successful plasma treatment case in the state when a person, Vineeth Ravi, donated his blood to save the life of Sainuddeen Baqhavi who was very critical. Bhaqhavi comes from a family of clerics and was working as an 'ustad' in the Gulf. Vineeth, a diploma holder in mechanical engineering, had contracted the disease during his stay in Chennai.
“The situation in Chennai was so bad that I rushed back to Kerala immediately after the lockdown was lifted. I was tested positive for COVID-19 and got admitted to the medical college immediately after my return from Chennai. I am alive now because of the care given to me by Dr Shinaz and his team,'' Vineeth had told The WEEK.
READ MORE: Blood brothers
The government medical college in Malappuram has performed five plasma treatments so far. While two patients did not react to the treatment, the others responded well, the doctor said. The state has so far done seven plasma treatments.
According to Dr Babu, plasma can be taken from those who have turned COVID-19 negative and falls in the age group of 18 to 50, and do not have comorbidites.
In the case of Kumar, two former COVID-19 patients donated their blood for him—Mohammed Basheer and Shahul Hameed.
Hameed, who works in a transportation company in Abu Dhabi, had returned on May 7. He was tested positive when he was in the state-run quarantine centre and was shifted immediately to the medical college. Hameed said anybody who received treatment in the medical colleges in Kerala would say 'yes' to the requests. “Such is the care we have received from the medical team here. Right from the doctor to the sweeper, all of them have taken lot of pain to save our lives. We owe our life to them,'' he said.
