Mumbai: Of the more than 60,000 coronavirus survivors in the city, just over a 100 have come forward to donate plasma for use in convalescent plasma therapy. Witnessing the dearth of plasma donors, hotelier Rahul Rohra has embarked on an awareness campaign. Rohra and his brother Monish had contracted the infection in May. At this time, he noticed the dire state of the health infrastructure, from the testing stage to medical advice.
"We thought, if educated people face so much trouble in getting tests, what must be the condition in rural areas?" Rohra told The Free Press Journal.
A month after they had recovered, the Rohra brothers went to Nair Hospital to donate their plasma, knowing that convalescent plasma therapy is a potential treatment option for the critically ill.
"We donated in June and this was when we learnt that not many people had came forward to do so. My brother and I were only the 50th and 51st plasma donors, despite there having been more than 40,000 recoveries," said Rohra.
"It was then we decided to take the initiative to nudge people to come forward and donate their plasma to help in the battle against Covid-19," he added.
Rohra started a 'Donate Plasma' campaign on social media in June 27 and contacted officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other frontline organisations. The first responders to his call were seven police officers from Khar police station. Till date, total seven police officers from this police station have donated their blood (plasma) for therapy and 18 officers have enlisted themselves for the donation.
"In all, seven police officers have donated so far. I have also been getting calls from various other departments of Mumbai Police and the state government, with other Covid survivors showing enthusiasm for the purpose," said the 35-year-old.
"As policemen, we felt we should lead the way. If we go forward and donate blood, it will send out a positive message and will inspire more people to come out and do so," said Gajanan Kabdule, senior inspector, Khar police station.
Rohra's drive has garnered immense popularity on Twitter, with citizens' groups and social workers backing the initiative.
Bandra-based social activist and Yuva Sena core committee member Rahul Kanal has been felicitating plasma donors with trophies and certificates.
"Awareness needs to be spread among survivors to come forward and donate their blood. This is a painless process and will help us in the collective battle against Covid-19," explains Kanal.
The Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF) has backed the cause on social media while on Twitter, the official handles of Chief Minister's Office (@cmomaharashtra) and BMC (@mybmc) have also urged people to come forward to donate plasma.
"Our sole purpose is to highlight the initiative and encourage donors and citizens of Mumbai, so that more people would come out and donate their plasma. What the police officers are doing definitely merits a big round of applause," said Trivankumar Karnani, founder-spokesperson, MNCDF.
