BHUBANESWAR: B Venkatesh (31) of Rayagada has been donating blood for the last several years. But he realised the importance of plasma therapy after he had to arrange it for his uncle, who after getting infected with Covid-19 was admitted to a hospital in Visakhapatnam on April 7.
Venkatesh, who works as a training and placement officer at an engineering college in Rayagada, has formed a WhatsApp group to connect the donors with beneficiaries. While undergoing treatment, Venkatesh’s uncle again needed plasma and one of his friends helped him arrange a donor. “I was infected in November last year. Though I have been donating blood for the last several years, I realised the importance of plasma therapy only after I had to arrange it for my uncle, who was critically ill from Covid,” he said.
Venkatesh has now devoted himself to the noble cause of saving human lives. In April, he donated plasma thrice and since Rayagada does not have a plasma donation facility, he travelled to Visakhapatnam in hired cabs but did not charge a single penny from his beneficiaries. “I have also created a pan-India Covid plasma group on WhatsApp where I am assisting in connecting the donors with the needy. My priority is to save lives during these testing times,” he said.
Another resident of Rayagada, Ramesh Ravva, who was infected by coronavirus in September last year, recently came to Bhubaneswar for some official work and got an antibody test conducted as he too wanted to help critical Covid patients. With an antibody count of 47, the doctors gave the thumbs up to Ramesh, who works with a private company.
After receiving the go-ahead, Ravva contacted a couple of charitable organisations to donate plasma. “One of them contacted me saying two critical Covid patients in Visakhapatnam needed plasma. I went there on April 30 and donated plasma,” he said.
Ramesh said he is in contact with his friends who were infected by Covid and have recovered so that they too can donate plasma to the needy. He urged the Odisha government to set up free antibody testing facilities at every hospital of the State.