Be careful: This is what is happening under the guise of Plasma Therapy

Plasma therapy is currently being recognized as a viable treatment for patients suffering from coronavirus. However, the Mumbai Police has recently started receiving complaints that many people are cheating citizens under the guise of plasma therapy. Anil Deshmukh, Home Minister of Maharashtra, has appealed to the people to aware of such dubiousness.

Plasma therapy with regards to the novel coronavirus pertains to the method in which the blood plasma is taken from the patients who have recovered from COVID-19 infection and are then added to the cell cultures in order to effectively let the antibodies in the plasma neutralize the virus and save the life of a newly infected person.

The testing for plasma therapy is being performed as per the guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research. The ICMR has strict regulations for this. The hospitals have been given permission for the plasma therapy while remaining under its jurisdiction. Therefore, in view of the shortage of plasma donors, some scammers have resorted to fraudulent business on the basis of false credentials. Taking advantage of this situation, unemployed young people recovered from coronavirus have been found donating plasma directly to people as needed.

A plasma donation requires a report of recovery from the disease along with a certificate of fitness to donate plasma. In order to be eligible to become a plasma donor, the person has to have been infected with the coronavirus and completely recovered. The individual would further need to complete 28 days from the time of testing negative and needs to have a haemoglobin level of 12.5 grams per decilitre. Fake certificates are also being circulated in order to take advantage of the plight of the needy. Cybercriminals are also using various tricks on social media with regards to the scam of plasma therapy.

If any citizen is faced with any form of fraud in this regard, please report it to your nearest police station or lodge a complaint on www.cybercrime.gov.in in order to get the grievances redressed.