Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday inaugurated the COVID Plasma Bank for treatment of serious COVID patients at SCB Medical College, Cuttack.
Odisha is the third state besides Delhi and Maharastra to start this facility.
Inaugurating the facility, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reiterated his government's commitment to providing advanced medical care and treatment to the people of the State.
"For me and my government, the life of every person is precious and the State would do everything possible to save the lives of our people. I would like to announce that Plasma Therapy will be made available free of cost to the people of Odisha," CM Patnaik said.
"My government is committed to provide the highest standards of medical care and treatment procedures for the people of the State. No person in Odisha would be deprived of access to the latest medical technology. This is a solemn commitment of this government", the Chief Minister added.
Appreciating the work of Doctors the Chief Minister said that doctors and medical personnel are working hard to provide their best in serving the people in these difficult COVID times and need to encourage and boost their morale.
The Chief Minister congratulated the four brave donors who volunteered to contribute their Plasma and appeal to all eligible Covid survivors to come forward to donate their Plasma which will go a long way in helping the treatment of serious Covid patients.
Pankaj Kumar Behera, Dr. Chid Bhusan Panda, Manoj Kumar Baral and Abinash Rout are the first four Plasma Donors of Odisha. Twelve more cured COVID patients including Salepur MLA Prasanta Behera have also come forward to join the mission and donate their Plasma. The Chief Minister thanked all of them and wished them the best.
While SCB Medical College will be the nodal agency for Plasma Therapy, the SUM Hospital, KIIMS Hospital both in Bhubaneswar and Aswini Hospital, Cuttack will provide Plasma Therapy treatment.
According to medical experts, bodies of people who recover from coronavirus produce an anti-body/plasma in the blood to help the person fight against coronavirus. If a little bit of this anti-body/plasma is given to a critical patient then the plasma helps in the latter person's recovery.
( With inputs from ANI )