The blood donor who has saved eight lives

Shahid Aboobakkar, a covid survivor, has donated blood for plasma 4 times, helping 8 patients

Not all heroes wear capes, goes the popular adage. A 23-year-old covid survivor certainly proved that, when he decided to help covid-positive patients by donating his blood for Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT). Not once or twice, Shahid Aboobakkar gave his blood four times to help covid patients, even travelling all the way from Mangaluru to Bengaluru.

A native of Ullal in Mangaluru, Shahid used to work in the hardware sector in Goa before the covid-19 pandemic hit. After that, he quit his job and moved back to his hometown. He has been actively involved with Blood Help Care Karnataka, a volunteer group in Mangaluru which mobilises blood requirements for patients in need. Aboobakkar told BM, “I have been donating blood thrice a year, probably over 15 times till date. But unfortunately, during a random testing conducted in our area in Ullal, I tested positive for covid-19. I had no serious symptoms, only loss of taste. Doctors suggested home isolation. After 15-20 days, I recovered and that is when I heard about the shortage of plasma donors in the state.”


“I received a call from Bengaluru that two patients urgently required plasma. So, I travelled to HCG Cancer Hospital and donated blood for the plasma therapy for the first time on August 17. After a few days, I again got a call that another two patients in Hegde Hospital in Mangaluru needed it. So I donated it for a second time on September 2,” he added.

He said that he did not feel any difference in donating blood before and after recovering from covid-19. “It is all about will power. The only thing that I had in my mind was to save lives,” he added.

Till date, his plasma has been harvested for eight patients and all of them recovered from covid-19, he says. Dr US Vishal Rao, Associate Dean, Centre for Academics and Research, HCG Cancer Hospital said, “He is a true plasma warrior and a Good Samaritan. Ideally, patients can donate plasma every two weeks. It’s important to check antibodies for plasma donation as we know that these antibodies are the maximum between 1 - 3 million and reduce after that. We hope the government sets up a plasma bank in each district.”

Aboobakkar then donated his blood on September 15 and on October 12. “If there’s any requirement in the coming days, I am ready to donate blood. Losing immunity is a myth. I want to save lives,” he added.