JOIN USKerala's Malappuram shows the way in plasma donation
Many people who have recovered from Covid-19 in north Kerala's Malappuram district are now actively engaged in plasma donation and counselling of new patients.
While 22 persons donated plasma last week, 15 more would be turning up on Friday and around 200 have already expressed willingness to donate. The initiative by health officials of Malappuram is also becoming a blessing for Covid-19 patients in other districts with three patients in other districts already benefitting from plasma collected in Malappuram.
It was a Whatsapp group of Covid-19 patients of Manjeri Government Medical College Hospital in Malappuram district that has now turned out to be a platform for the ex-patients to extend help to the fresh ones.
Dr. Shinaz Babu, Malappuram district's nodal officer of Covid care, told DH that the response from the ex-patients in the district to help the fresh patients has been overwhelming especially since many other districts were finding it difficult to get plasma donors. Two patients from Alappuzha district and one from Kozhikode had already benefited from the plasma collected in Malappuram. The district also hoped to have a plasma bank for Covid care especially since the Covid cases were increasing alarmingly. Several patients in Kerala, including four in Malappuram district, have successfully been treated using plasma therapy.
All the fresh patients in the district have been added to Whatsapp groups maintained by the district health department to provide information and for coordination purposes. Even after being discharged, the patients were retained in the groups and that's how the ex-patients could extending counselling services to fresh patients using the group as a platform. As of now, there were around 750 members across three such groups.
Dr. Babu said that many ex-patients who were involved in the plasma donation, as well as counselling services, said that they were just returning the love and care they received while undergoing their Covid treatment.
For Covid treatment, plasma needs to be taken from a recovered person within 14 days to four months and it could be preserved for up to one year.