Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — A month-long Kingdom-wide plasma donation campaign to provide relief for COVID-19 patients was launched recently. The campaign, with the theme of “Donate Plasma to Save Lives” is organized by India Fraternity Forum (IFF). The formal inauguration of the campaign was held last Saturday at the Prince Muhammad Hospital in Riyadh.

The blood donation drive, which runs from July 25 to Aug. 25, will take place in various government hospitals in all the provinces of the Kingdom. Hundreds of IFF volunteers, who hail from various states of India, are expected to take part in the campaign, the officials at the forum said.

Moosakutty Kondotty, zonal president of IFF, said that the campaign is part of the Indian community’s support to the Ministry of Health in its vigorous efforts to stem the spread of the pandemic.

Earlier in July, the ministry announced that more than 100 COVID-19 patients had benefited from convalescent blood plasma treatment in the Kingdom. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the ministry is offering the best quality of treatment to citizens as well as expatriates.

Plasma contains components that help the human body to recover from infections. These components include antibodies and the plasma of a patient who has recovered from coronavirus may contain antibodies against it.

In the absence of effective treatment and vaccines, these antibodies act as the first line of defense against infection. Further studies and research on plasma treatment is being conducted by the Ministry of Health.

IFF has released a handbook titled “COVID-19 Health Safety Guidelines” in various Indian languages. It covers the precautions to be taken against Covid-19, the change in the lifestyle during the lockdown period and the mental preparations to be made in case of contracting the pandemic.