MANGALURU: The Dakshina Kannada district administration is exploring the possibility of setting up a Covid-19 plasma bank in Mangaluru to save the lives of critically ill patients. Deputy Commissioner K V Rajendra told TNIE that he has sought a report from District Health Officer (DHO) Ramachandra Bayary and District Surgeon Dr Sadashiva on whether private hospitals here are technically competent to have the facility.
“If they have it and are willing to have the facility, then permission will be sought from the state government,” he added. The DC said he was not sure whether the Wenlock District Hospital has the required instruments to conduct the procedures. However, he said he will get a report from the hospital before proceeding to obtain licence from the Indian Council of Medical Research.
In the absence of the facility, sources said donors are forced to travel all the way to Bengaluru. Recently, Jeeshan Ali, an advocate, and Hyder Ali, an entrepreneur, travelled to Bengaluru to donate plasma. They then returned to Mangaluru with the plasma, which was administered to two infected persons, one of whom was an 85-year-old.
Sources said there is no dearth of plasma donors in Mangaluru, but the problem is that they have to travel more than 700 km to go to Bengaluru and come back. If a collection bank is opened in Mangaluru, then it will encourage a lot of donors.