SHILLONG: As a sequel to the High Court’s tacit suggestion for the state government to have a look at the idea of setting up a plasma bank, the Meghalaya Government has begun consultation with the NEIGRIHMS authorities for possible compliance.
“The consultation in this connection is still on. We will take a final on this matter once the consultation process is completed,” Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong told reporters on Monday.
To a question as to why the government cannot set up the plasma bank for treatment of COVID-19 on its own, Tynsong said that the government will require the expert inputs of NEIGRIHMS to set up the plasma bank.
According to him, the people who have recovered from COVID-19 will have to voluntarily come forward to donate their blood adding that it is almost like a blood donation. “It will be futile to create the plasma bank if the 200-plus people who have recovered in the state decline to donate their plasma,” Tynsong said.
The government, he felt, cannot impose on the people who have recovered from COVID-19 to donate their blood plasma.
Meanwhile, DHS (MI) Dr. Aman War said that the plasma therapy aims at using antibodies from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient to treat those critically infected by the virus.
Earlier last week, the Meghalaya High Court had taken note of the request for a plasma bank in the state.
