Hyderabad! Stop sharing that fake 'viral' COVID-19 plasma donors list

This post has been going viral in Hyderabad since July 15 night and everybody has been sharing it believing it could help someone out there who needs plasma.
Plasma donors donate at Delhi plasma bank. (Photo| EPS)
Plasma donors donate at Delhi plasma bank. (Photo| EPS)

HYDERABAD: If you've spotted a viral social media about a list of plasma donors from Hyderabad, stop right there and kill the post. 

First, the post is fake. None of the numbers (not the first 30 at least) are working. Even those which do are the wrong numbers. 

Second, it is not a list from Hyderabad, but from Tamil Nadu. 

This post has been going viral in Hyderabad since July 15 night and everybody has been sharing it believing it could help someone out there who needs plasma. However, you would be doing a disservice to a person in need by giving out wrong information and adding to their trauma.

Pratibha Jhawar from Old City, Hyderabad, has been on a mission to connect plasma donors and donees in Hyderabad and this Company Secretary warns about how people are conning the donees by demanding money and then vanishing from the scene.
 
"Currently, I just try to connect people who need plasma with those who can/are eligible to give. I have come across people like Sandeep Reddy (probably a fake name) demanding Rs 5,000 for plasma donation, asking for the money to be sent across by Google Pay and then once the payment is done, switching off his phone or just not responding. Considering patients are paying Rs 80,000 or more for treatment, 5K doesn't seem like a big amount, but some like him are fleecing those in desperate need." 

Pratibha's Twitter handle is @prathibha1995 and you can tag her to let her know if you need plasma and she will use her network to help you.

Although she has no official data on the gap between the donors and the donees, she says that there could be 'a wide gap' as many don't even know who to approach for this. 

Who can donate plasma?

Dr Sarath Chandra Mouli Veeravalli, Consultant Rheumatologist, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad has this to say:
- The donor should have been tested positive for coronavirus and recovered. A test 28 days from the day he/she first tested positive should be negative
- Such donors can donate up to three times after they are diagnosed COVID-negative every two weeks.
- It is usually 200 ml twice a day and the process is simple. The donor gives the blood, it goes through a machine where plasma is separated and the blood is injected back through another hand.
- This process may not take more than 30 to 40 minutes.
- Convalescent plasma, as it is called, from recovered patients carries rich antibodies from their blood. This plasma was earlier also extracted from people who had recovered from viral pandemics such as Spanish flu, swine flu and SARS. 
- Anyone who has recovered from COVID-19 and is above 18 years and weighs more than 55 kg can donate plasma even if they have co-morbidities such as diabetes
- Patients who are in the moderate stage (according to new guidelines, the cases are divided into mild, moderate and severe) will respond better to this treatment

(Dr Sarath is creating a voluntary group of donors and he can be contacted on ‎+91 98660 00685 or sarath10@hotmail.com)


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