18-year-old boy becomes youngest to donate plasma at AIIMS Delhi

A young boy from national capital aged 18 years became the youngest plasma donor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi on Monday. He voluntarily donated blood plasma after having recovered from COVID-19.

New Delhi: An 18-year-old boy who recovered from COVID-19, on Monday became the youngest plasma donor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the national capital. Within a few weeks, the patient developed antibodies that the doctors said can neutralise the lethal virus.

Amarinder Singh Malhi, Assistant Professor, AIIMS Cardio Radio Department said, the boy initially had a fever, following which he got himself tested in a private lab. The result turned out to be positive. "His father, working as a nursing officer in AIIMS, also underwent a coronavirus test. Adhering to the safety precaution, he got his 80-year-old mother tested. However, the old lady's result was negative but Lokesh and his son confirmed positive for the deadly virus," Dr Amarinder added.

According to sources, the father and son duo was admitted to AIIMS on June 6. They successfully recovered from the fatal infection in a few weeks. Both of them were discharged on June 13. After a month, the 18-year-old boy voluntarily donated his plasma in order to help other people fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emphasising the need to help people in this trying times, Amarinder Singh Malhi further elaborated, there were about 9 lakh active cases all over India, out of which five and a half lakh patients have been cured. "If these five and a half million people donate plasma, then supposedly all patients can benefit. This is the best way to treat patients with moderate and severe illness," he exclaimed.

Earlier Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 11 extended a token of thanks to plasma donors and praised them for their immense contribution in saving the lives of coronavirus patients. In order to increase the recovery rate, Delhi government set up India's first plasma bank at the state-run Institute of Liver and Biliary Science (ILBS), with an objective to maintain a plasma stock from those who have already recovered from the disease. Later on, 2,000-bed capacity LNJP Hospital, which is the largest COVID-19 dedicated hospital in the national capital, became the second to own plasmapheresis machine.

On the other hand, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi on Tuesday recorded 19017 active coronavirus cases. However, 3,411 fatalities have been reported so far.