In an inspiring gesture, hundreds of paramilitary jawans, recovered recently from the Covid-19 infection, have come forward to donate plasma for saving lives of the patients still undergoing treatment and contributed towards the country’s fight against coronavirus.
So far, at least 2,000 paramilitary personnel have recovered from the virus while another 1,400 are still recovering out of a total number of 3,300 reported cases. Many of the recovered paramilitary personnel have already either donated plasma in states like Delhi, Gujarat, and Haryana or committed to making donations in the upcoming days.
The paramilitary forces of the country, also known as the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) are designated with the responsibility of combating internal security threats. The security agencies under the flagship of CAPF include Assam Rifles (AR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Security Guard (NSG), and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
Significance of Plasma Therapy
“This method has a simple premise. The blood of people who have recovered from an infection contains antibodies. Antibodies are molecules that have learned to recognize and fight the pathogens, such as viruses, that have caused disease. Doctors can separate plasma, one of the blood components that contain such antibodies, and administer it to people whose bodies are currently fighting the infectious disease. This can help their immune systems reject the pathogen more efficiently”, explains Maria Cohut in the newsletter of Medical News Today while defining the process of convalescent plasma transfusion.
Though the talks on establishing ‘plasma bank’ in the country have been undergoing for quite some time now, the Chief Minister of Delhi, Mr.Arvind Kejriwal formally inaugurated India’s first ‘Plasma Bank’ via videoconferencing at the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in Delhi. He made an appeal to the recovered COVID-19 patients between the ages of 18 and 60, with no comorbidities to donate plasma.
“If you have recovered from #COVID19 & your age is between 18 and 60 & your weight is above 50 kg, then you may donate plasma for #COVID19 patients. However, women who have given birth or the persons with comorbidities, are not eligible to donate plasma,” he stated.
The Good Samaritans Of The Forces
Even before the formal statement made by the CRPF Chief for donating plasma, constables Ganesh Kumar, Manjeet Singh, and Gurtej Singh of CRPF Battalions had already donated plasma voluntarily to save patients’ lives. It has earned them praise from the Chief of the force.
“I donated plasma on June 27 after I came to know from NDTV that a lady on a ventilator needed it. I went to the hospital – Delhi’s Sir Ganga Ram – to get myself checked and donate,” Manjeet Singh, a CRPF Head Constable told NDTV. “I came to know I was positive for the virus on April 29 but I did not let that depress me. I kept a positive frame of mind and followed my doctors’ instructions,” he added while narrating his sheer positivity as a Covid-19 patient.
“If it can help save a life, then why not?”-Head Constable Ganesh Kumar, of the 31 Battalion described it as a ‘good deed’. The CISF jawans were also not short of making similar humanitarian gestures. For the CISF Head Constable, RT Yadav, posted at the Mumbai Airport, receiving a call from the Home Minister Amit Shah was a moment of joy.
“One day, when I was resting, I got a call from Home Minister Amit Shah. He motivated me and boosted my immunity level,” he said. He also happens to be a donor. CJ Yadav of the CISF also followed similar steps. “I took precautions and I managed to defeat it,” he said proudly while speaking to NDTV after donating plasma.
Statement By The CRPF Chief
On June 30, in a written appeal to the troops consisting around 3.25 lakh personnel, CRPF Director General (DG) A P Maheshwari urged the paramilitary force to become the good samaritans for the country.
“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRPF donned the role of COVID warriors. We have proactively reached out to our brethren and helped in crisis”, (DG) A P Maheshwari said in the statement. “Those of our warriors who have defeated the virus themselves can help some of our fellow countrymen defeat the virus as well by donating plasma,” he added.
As of June 30, the CRPF has had a total of 1,219 coronavirus cases; whereas 655 out of which have duly recovered and 555 of them are still undergoing treatment. “About 1,000 of our personnel contracted the disease. More than half of them have also recovered by now. But thousands of our countrymen are still struggling in hospitals”, the CRPF chief mentioned in his statement while encouraging the personnel to opt for the “simple procedure with no cost attached”.
While the paramilitary forces of the country are relentlessly helping to protect the law and order and maintain the calm, this simple act of kindness by them has also turned them into the corona-warriors.
Though not a battlefield of weapons as such, the fight against the pandemic is no less. After all, the satisfaction of saving lives is unsurmountable and incomparable!