As Noida starts plasma trials, 3 of Cease Fire are first donors

Noida: Three employees of Cease Fire, the Sector 135 company that turned out to be one of the biggest Covid clusters in the district, are among the first donors of blood plasma in Noida.
A centre for plasma therapy was inaugurated at GIMS on Monday by Greater Noida Authority CEO Narendra Bhooshan. Ravi Sharma, Mukul Chandra Bhati and Neha Jha, all of whom work with Cease Fire, had tested positive towards the end of March. They were discharged after undergoing treatment at GIMS and also completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine at home. When the hospital’s internal WhatsApp group posted a request seeking donors last week, the three did not think it twice before joining in.
Together, the plasma collected from them can treat 6 Covid patients. The therapy involves taking antibodies from the blood of a person who has recovered from Covid and transfusing them into an active patient to help boost his immune system. “One donor’s plasma can be used to treat two patients,” said Dr RK Gupta, the director of GIMS.
For all the three donors, life had turned almost upside after their reports came out positive. Ravi (30) lost his father to a cardiac arrest, Mukul (30) went into depression and Neha (19) did not have anybody to even take her to hospital.
“I was admitted to GIMS on March 28. The very next day, I lost my father, who suffered a cardiac arrest. I could not even attend his funeral, my younger brother had to do all the rituals,” said Ravi, who is from Bisnoli village in Dadri.
Ravi, who was in hospital for 24 days, was the first to opt for blood plasma donation at GIMS on Saturday. “I’m absolutely fit now and have completed my 14-day quarantine after discharge. I had decided to donate my blood plasma ever since I heard that it can help in the treatment of Covid patients. I donated 400ml on Saturday and the process took 40 minutes,” said Ravi, a B+ donor. He plans to donate his plasma again after 15 days if required.
For Mukul, the second donor on Saturday, the initial recovery period at the hospital was an anxious one. “When I tested positive, I was having high fever and dry cough. For two days, the fever would not subside. At times I felt I would never be able to return home alive. A kind of fear had started creeping into my mind. May be because I had heard so much about the effects of the deadly coronavirus,” he said.
Mukul said that after his discharge from hospital, he came to know about plasma donation through its WhatsApp group. “They had posted a request for donors in the group. I wanted to help Covid patients because I have gone through the ordeal myself,” said Mukul, who had sent his family — wife and two children — to his village in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district in December last year.
The third and youngest donor — 19-year-old Neha — work as a design engineer at Cease Fire. Originally from Sonbhadra, Neha stayed in Noida along with a roommate. But she has been staying alone ever since her discharge from hospital because her friend has gone home. From getting admitted to getting things back on track, Neha has been managing all by herself. “When I reached home from the hospital, there was no milk or food. Though you’ve recovered, people treat you with suspicion. I somehow managed through it all and served my days in quarantine,” said Neha.
On Monday, the 19-year-old went to GIMS in an ambulance sent by the hospital. “I was in the hospital for a few hours. I donated 350ml of blood plasma. I will donate again if required. There is nothing to fear from the virus. We should have strong will power and face the isolation period with constructive thoughts. That’s what I did,” Neha told TOI.
Plasma treatment would be extended to patients in other Noida hospitals too, Dr RK Gupta said.