Delhi’s second plasma bank inaugurated at Lok Nayak Hospital

NEWDELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday inaugurated the city’s second convalescent plasma bank at Delhi’s biggest treatment facility for patients with coronavirus disease (Covid-19)—the 2,000-bed Lok Nayak hospital.

The Delhi government had opened the country’s first plasma bank at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj on July 2. Another plasma bank which is yet to start operating is at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, the biggest hospital in the trans-Yamuna region. It has been converted into a dedicated Covid-19 hospital.

“Today, Lok Nayak hospital started plasma collection. Till the time a vaccine is developed, plasma will help save lives. I am not saying that it can save 100% of the people, but it can save some lives. And, it had a role in reducing Delhi’s death rate as well. One of the benefits of having the bank in Lok Nayak hospital is that it is located at the centre of the city and it will be easier for people to come here and donate,” Kejriwal said while visiting the plasma bank on Tuesday morning.

Convalescent plasma therapy uses the blood component plasma — rich in virus-fighting antibodies from patients who have recovered from the infection — to aid the immune system of Covid-19 patients. It is still an experimental therapy.

Unlike the centre at ILBS, plasma received at Lok Nayak hospital will be used for its own patients to ensure that more people receive the therapy at the hospital. “The plasma will be used for treating patients at the hospital. So far, we were providing the therapy only under a clinical trial. Now, with the apheresis machine and bank, we will be able to provide the therapy to more patients outside the trial. Having an in-house bank will also mean that we will not have to wait to get the plasma from ILBS,” Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director, Lok Nayak hospital, said.