67 Assam Police Personnel Who Recovered From COVID-19 Donate Plasma To Help Other Patients
At a time when there is an acute shortage of those who have recovered from COVID-19 who are willing to come forward and donate their plasma, a group of Assam Police personnel has put their duty to the society first.
On Sunday, 67 personnel from the Assam Police who have recovered from COVID-19 recently donated their plasma at a state-run hospital the capital.
The police personnel donated their plasma at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).
They were felicitated by Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a programme organised at the hospital's auditorium.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal thanked the plasma donors and appealed to the people to "come out and donate plasma to serve humanity".
"With the support of people and bravery of Corona Warriors, we are doing extremely well in our fight against COVID-19," he tweeted.
Referring to plasma donation by the police personnel, the chief minister said, "This will encourage others to come forward and do their bit for humanity."
"I commend the courageous and selfless Corona Warriors of Assam Police, whose service goes much beyond the call of duty. They are our heroes," he tweeted. The health minister, in a Twitter post, said, "Khaki stands for sacrifice and compassion.
Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta, who was present at the felicitation programme, said that the 67 police personnel responded to the chief minister's appeal and donated their plasma.
Consultations were held with the Health Department and necessary protocols were followed for the donation, Mahanta said.
A total of 1,552 Assam Police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 so far, of which four have died and 1,086 have recovered, with 279 of them rejoining duty.
More than 100 people who have recovered from COVID-19 have donated their plasma at GMCH.
Two plasma banks are operational in Assam and another is scheduled to start functioning at the Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH) from next week, officials said.??
While it has not been officially cleared as a way to treat COVID-19, Plasma therapy which is still in the experimental phase has shown considerable promise.
Plasma therapy involves the transfusion of blood plasma from recovered patients who have developed antibodies to another patient.
Despite the success rate, Plasma therapy has not widely been used, and one of the reasons behind it is the lack of willing donors.
Across the country, only a small percentage of those who recover are coming forward to donate plasma.
In several states including Assam, governments are setting up plasma banks to make the process easier and bring the donors and recipients together.
