Fortunately, the plasma bank at the institute has about 2000 units of plasma stored at present. (Representative image)As the cases of Coronavirus rise in the national capital over the last month, demand for plasma has also increased with family members of the patients visiting different plasma banks in the city to arrange plasma. While the plasma banks have maintained that they have enough stocks of plasma at the moment, there has been a considerable dip in plasma donations by the recovered patients, The Indian Express reported.
The number of active Coronavirus cases in the national capital increased by 37,125 in the month of March alone with the number of cases on an upward trend during the first four days of April as well. The city registered a total of 4,033 new Coronavirus cases in the city on Sunday. Hospitals and plasma banks, The Indian Express contacted said that only 1-2 people were seeking plasma in the month of February per day, the number of people in need of plasma has increased to about 10-12 per day in March.
Dr. SK Sarin, who is the head of the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, which also hosts the city’s first plasma bank, told the Indian Express that the demand of plasma among Covid-19 patients has certainly gone up. Sarin also said that the number of plasma donors in the city is not commensurate with the increasing demand. Fortunately, the plasma bank at the institute has about 2000 units of plasma stored at present.
As per doctors, patients who are infected with the disease at present will have recovered from the disease in the next two weeks after which they will be able to donate plasma. Talking about the previous surge in the number of Coronavirus cases in the city in December-January when there were enough donors and patients in need of plasma, Dr Sarin said that the plasma banks will have to ask recovered patients to come forward and donate plasma.
Delhi was the first city which was given due permission to conduct the convalescent plasma therapy on a trial basis in April last year. The plasma therapy treatment has been used on a large number of patients in Delhi with the city also being the first one to set up a plasma bank in the country.
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