The Delhi government on Monday announced that it will start a plasma bank in two days for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

“The plasma bank will be set-up at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences in Delhi. Those who need plasma will have to get a recommendation from a doctor. I request the recovered patients to donate their plasma,” said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

On Saturday, Kejriwal had talked about the government’s five steps to tackle the Covid-19 crisis. This five-point strategy consists of increasing the number of beds, testing and isolation, providing pulse oximeters to those in home isolation, use of plasma therapy and conducting surveys.

“From Saturday, we have started conducting door-to door surveys and screening to know about the exact status of corona in the national capital. We have also bought 4,000 oxygen concentrators for Covid-19 patients and 20,000 tests are being conducted daily," said Kejriwal.

There has been a significant increase in the number of beds in the last week. There were fewer beds available at the start of June. However, now there are 13,500 beds available, of which only 6,500 beds are occupied, he added.

Those in home isolation have been provided with a pulse oximeter through which they can keep checking their oxygen level every one-two hours.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has also got the permission to conduct plasma therapy at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospitals and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

There has been a reduction in the number of deaths due to the use of plasma therapy and can help moderate patients by not letting their condition worsen, the CM added.

Plasma therapy involves the transfusion of plasma recovered from whole blood of recovered Covid-19 patients, to seriously ill patients. While blood can be donated every three months, plasma donation can be done every 10 days.

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