State to operate more than 20 plasma collection centres
Kolkata: In a bid to augment the Convalescent plasma therapy for the Covid patients, the state Health department has decided to operate more than 20 plasma collection centres across the state. Considering the gravity of the present situation various medical colleges and hospitals in the state have already started collecting blood samples from the recovered patients.
The Health department is keen on taking the awareness among the Covid recovered patients in various districts and hence steps have been taken to set up a blood collection centre in each district. According to the initial plans blood collection would take place at 20 centres which are mostly medical colleges and district hospitals. Blood collection has been started at various medical colleges and hospitals across the state so that the recovered Covid patients can come forward to donate blood. The health department has already started awareness among the patients recovered from COVID so that they come forward and donate blood for the augmentation of plasma therapy. The health department initially found that only a few patients had shown interest to donate blood for plasma therapy after they recovered from the COVID-19.
A senior health department official said that as many as 20 centers have already been demarcated and most of them have already been collecting blood. Other than the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), all the other medical colleges and hospitals are collecting whole blood from the recovered patients and after that they are segregating various components. The process has been started at two places in North Bengal. CMCH is the only hospital where plasma is being collected from the Covid recovered patients.
Following Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's instruction, a plasma bank has been set up at the CMCH. The Institute of Immuno-Hemeotology at the CMCH has already carried out plasma collection from 49 patients. The state government felt the necessity of plasma therapy as it may prove to be a crucial method to help the affected patients to recover. The health department would conduct plasma therapy on a total of 80 patients in the initial phase.
Convalescent plasma therapy is a method in which plasma retrieved from COVID -19 cured patients is transfused in other affected patients so that their immune system against the virus gets
strengthened. CMCH has been collecting blood from the recovered patients and preparing the plasma for clinical trials. Many more hospitals are joining hands in a gradual process.
