MYSURU: Fear of catching the coronavirus again, and resistance from family members has left many Covid survivors in Mysuru reluctant to come forward to donate plasma for the treatment of other patients.
Despite incentives from the state government and reports suggesting that plasma therapy has been successful used to cure critically-ill Covid patients, many survivors in the district are still hesitant to donate blood for plasma retrieval.
It’s been a week since a facility was thrown open for Covid survivors to donate plasma, but so far, only seven have donated blood, five of whom are frontline Covid warriors – three policemen and two employees of Mysuru City Corporation (MCC).
The district, as on Wednesday, reported 8,467 cases, with 4,781 patients discharged.
Health officials pointed out that reluctance towards plasma donation ranges from fear of catching the virus again during the visit to donate blood, resistance from family members and myths about donating blood.
“We are appealing to Covid survivors to come forward and donate plasma for the treatment of critically-ill Covid patients, but there is complete reluctance.
It might be due to several reasons -- some might feel it is not good for health to donate, or due to misinformation about it. We are trying our best to motivate and hope to see a good response in the coming days,” said Dr Manjunath, blood bank officer, KR Hospital.
When TNIE asked Covid survivors why they did not register for plasma donation, the answer ranged from fear of contracting the virus again, lack of information about the initiative and other hindrances.
“I am not interested. Going to hospital amid the spike in cases means contracting the infection again,” said a recovered patient from JP Nagar. Another survivor from Kumbar Koppal said, “I had a bad experience during my stay at a Covid Care Centre. When they can’t treat us properly, how can they expect us to donate blood? Let them first fix issues faced by patients and people will voluntarily register to donate.”
A few patients are trying to motivate other Covid survivors to come forward and donate as part of social responsibility.
Raju, a staffer with the MCC health section, who recovered from Covid-19, was the first to donate plasma in the district.
“I took along two of my friends, who had also recovered from the virus. It is safe and also everyone’s responsibility to donate and help other patients recover,” he said.
Remdesivir SOP finalised
At a meeting held by the Health Department, Additional Chief Secretary Jawaid Akhtar, informed the attendees that the SOP on the use of remdesivir has been finalised and the drug will be supplied to all private hospitals, facilitated by the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust.
Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar chaired the virtual meeting to discuss issues related to treatment protocols, Covid testing, admission and discharge of patients, and treating patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Illness. The judicious use of PPE was also discussed.