Despite monetary incentive, only three have volunteered to donate plasma in Bengaluru

The government has announced an incentive of Rs 5,000 to those patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and are willing to donate plasma. However, only three people have come forward to donate plasma since the launch of plasma therapy in Bengaluru.

The total number of recovered patients in the state is reported to be at 18,466, out of which 5,455 are from Bengaluru.

Dr Sreelatha, head of the department of blood transfusion, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), stated that the hospital is facing tough times as neither recovered patients are volunteering to donate plasma nor non-infected volunteers are coming forward to donate blood.

“People are not aware about the importance of plasma donation. I think it has to be made mandatory on the lines of the Delhi government. The recovered patients should come after 28 days and get tested. Since the patients get the treatment free of cost, they should come forward to save the people. It is time that the higher ups should give a strict order on this as requests are not being heard by the people,” she commented.

She revealed that there are plans of setting up a plasma convalescent bank. In convalescent plasma therapy, a donor can save two lives. “With each passing day, the requirements of the patients are increasing. In the absence of the bank, it gets difficult to cater for them. I believe that the government must come out with strict orders in this regard so that we can go ahead with the treatment smoothly,” she remarked.