VIJAYAWADA: To quicken the process of Covid-19 treatment, the state government has launched a plasma donation drive, as part of which a database of all the eligible recovered patients is being maintained.
“A database of all patients, who have been discharged from hospitals and are eligible for plasma donation as per the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has been prepared. The data will be shared with all blood banks that have plasma collection and storage facility. The blood banks will contact donors, and collect and store plasma as per the blood groups. The hospitals will choose patients eligible for plasma treatment and approach these blood banks. It is a simple process that will take place on an online platform,” explained Katamneni Bhaskar, Commissioner, Health and Family Welfare. Each donor will be rewarded with `5,000 to encourage others.
At present, the state has 37,000 potential plasma donors and the process of taking their consent is going on, Bhaskar added. “While a state-level awareness drive on plasma donation is already underway, the new programme is being carried out on a one-to-one basis, as officials are directly approaching the donors by calling them.”
Andhra Pradesh is currently conducting 65,000 to 70,000 Covid-19 tests every day and spending Rs 15 crore per day (app) for all Covid-related arrangements including food, lodging, medicines and tests.