Coronavirus in Mumbai: Anonymous donor's Rs 80 lakh largesse enables new testing lab

Coronavirus in Mumbai: Anonymous donor's Rs 80 lakh largesse enables new testing lab

Earlier, it was reported that the government-run JJ Hospital had been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to set up a CoVID-19 testing laboratory.

Swapnil MishraUpdated: Saturday, March 28, 2020, 03:47 AM IST
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Coronavirus | ANI

Mumbai: A new laboratory has been setup at the state-run JJ Hospital to speed up corona testing, where 180 samples can be processed daily.

Currently, 45 samples from Kasturba Hospital are being tested here. The dean of the hospital, Dr Pallavi Saple, said the equipment for the advanced lab, worth Rs 80 lakh, was gifted by an anonymous donor and it can test 1,000 samples daily.

Earlier, it was reported that the government-run JJ Hospital had been approved by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to set up a CoVID-19 testing laboratory. However, for lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), the project was delayed.

Now, geared with a fortnight's worth of PPE, the laboratory has swung into action. The hospital has plans to start testing 1,000 samples daily but with adequate manpower, 1,000-2,000 samples can be tested each day, Dr Saple said.

“We have started the facility with 45 samples but if armed with more manpower, we could test at least 1,000 samples every day, a big boost in the current crisis.

We have spoken to the health ministry in this regard,” she said. With the addition of this facility, there are now 11 testing labs in the city: Kasturba Hospital, King Edward Memorial Hospital and eight private laboratories.

This was made possible by an anonymous philanthropist, who donated a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machine worth Rs 80 lakh to the hospital.

After a swab sample is taken from a suspected patient, it is put in a 3ml viral transport medium, allowing the virus to grow in a 10ml tube.

Then the virus RNA is extracted from the sample and fed into the RT-PCR machine for identification. If the sample turns blue, the test is confirmed positive for the virus. “We are thankful to people coming forward to help. We are also trying to procure PPE through donations,” Dr Saple informed.

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