Jamshedpur: Amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, the East Singhbhum administration has launched a fresh campaign to create awareness regarding plasma donation and has started approaching its old donors in this regard, Smita Nagesia, the deputy collector and in-charge of plasma donation awareness committee (PDAC), said on Friday.
Indian Red Cross Society’s secretary (Jamshedpur unit) Vijay Singh told TOI, “We have requested our old donors for plasma donation provided their anti-body levels enable them for donation.” He added that PDAC is reaching out to 300 donors and undertaking awareness campaigns across various media platforms.
Till date, PDAC has collected plasma from 235 people and nearly 35% of those donors were from rural areas. They were deemed fit for plasma donation after PDAC screened 1,100 people shortly after they recovered from Covid-19.
“The criterion for selecting candidates for plasma donation is so complex that only a handful of the recovered people are eligible for donation,” Singh said.
As per the protocols set by the healthcare experts, only those between 18-59 years with no underlying ailments are eligible for plasma donation 21 days after they have recovered from the infection.
During June-July last year when pandemic was at its peak in the district, PDAC received as many as 20 requests for plasma donation daily.
The committee collects plasma at the Jamshedpur Blood Bank and caters to hospitals in and around Steel City. So far, PDAC has supplied plasma to Tata Main Hospital, Tata Motors Hospital, Brahmananda Narayana Multispecialty Hospital.
In addition, PDAC has supplied plasma to Bhagwan Mahavir Medica Superspecialty Hospital and Abdul Razaak Ansari Memorial Hospital in Ranchi.