GUWAHATI, July 3 - Launching a plasma bank at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday appealed to cured COVID-19 patients to come forward and donate blood.
In plasma therapy, antibody rich blood from recovered patients is used to treat patients. The idea behind the treatment is to extract the blood bearing COVID-19 antibodies from patients who have survived the infection and provide them to patients struggling with it.
The first convalescent donor was a doctor himself � PG student Dr Lithikesh who was infected with the virus in May.
Also, to track and treat COVID-19 patients, the health department has procured two lakh Rapid Point-of-Care Antigen Detection Test kits which were used from Friday.
The kits � Standard Q COVID-19 Ag kit � can show results in 30 minutes. It does not require any specialised machine and �can be interpreted with the naked eye�. The kits have been approved by the ICMR.
Sarma, who attended a demo of the kit at GMCH on Thursday, said the health department will use one lakh kits in Guwahati.
�This, coupled with the ongoing gold standard RT-PCR tests, will further sharpen our testing abilities,� he said.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, accompanied by the health minister, on Friday visited the COVID Care Centres being set up by the Health Department at IIT Guwahati and Maniram Dewan Trade Centre. While a provision has been made for 800 isolation beds at IIT Guwahati, another 440 beds have been kept ready at the COVID Care Centre at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre.
During his visit, Sonowal interacted with media-persons and said the government in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has made all efforts, including setting up of designated COVID hospitals, to ensure best health care services to COVID-positive patients.
