VASCO: Three COVID survivors from port town volunteered to donate their blood plasma at Goa Medical College and Hospital to become COVID saviours.
After donating the plasma, the donors urged other COVID survivors to be responsible and come forward willingly to donate their blood plasma containing antibodies to help the critically ill patients to fight infection.
Arif Havaldar, a marine engineer from Chicalim, who recently recovered from the infection, volunteered after the State government urged the COVID survivors to donate their blood plasma.
Havaldar informed that they were a team of seven members who had gone to Kolkata in May to deliver a barge. When they returned, out of seven, there members were tested COVID positive and admitted at the ESI Hospital, Margao, where they were treated well by Dr Edwin Gomes and his team.
He further said, “All three of them returned home after a complete recovery from the infection with a COVID negative certificate.”
“On Sunday, I got a call from GMC requesting me to donate blood plasma. So, all three of us went to GMC and donated our blood plasma, which I felt is for a good cause,” said Havaldar.
He also urged others, who have recovered successfully from the infection, to come forward and donate their blood plasma at GMC so that this could prove life saving effort to many who are critically ill and are in need of plasma for their recovery from the infection.
Bijendra Kumar Tyagi, marine chief engineer from Chicalim, who was also with Arif on his voyage to Kolkata, said, “I am very comfortable and there is no weakness in the body after the blood donation.”
He further informed that while returning back we had to travel some distance in a mini bus. That time some results were out related to COVID status. Upon our arrival, we were initially shifted to Margao Residency and later to ESI COVID Hospital.
He also mentioned that after a month’s completion from the recovery, I got a call from GMC for plasma donation. Therefore, we all decided to come forward and donated our plasma.
Tyagi opined that it is a responsibility of the person who has recovered from the infection to voluntarily come forward and donate his plasma which contains antibodies to fight the infection, given that there has been no definite vaccine or medicine available for the virus.
Efforts were also made to contact the third survivor, who is from Mangor Hill to get his views, but was unavailable at the residence.
