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Story #18 of 50 days, 50 Stories Campaign
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All of us have faced many difficulties and struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic. All over the world, everyone experienced the dark days of 2020.
Life was normal until we stepped into the 3rd week of March 2020. From that period, the Indian media only had reports and panel discussions regarding the spread of COVID and precautions to be followed. It was clear that India was not well prepared to handle this type of pandemic situation. There was a feeling of helplessness and fear throughout the country.
The first COVID case was reported in Kerala – a flight passenger tested positive for COVID-19 after her travel from Wuhan, China. The nation was set on high alert as the first-ever case has been reported in southern India. The Kerala Medical Board screened all the passengers of the same flight and isolated them. On successive days, the COVID positive cases started to increase, many people are exposed to the virus, and a nationwide lockdown was declared to stop/reduce the spread of COVID-19. While people were forced to stay in their homes, and essential and grocery stores were also closed. Life it seemed came to a halt.
During this tense situation, we received a donor request from Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune, for a patient diagnosed with AML. The treating physician mentioned that it was a high-risk case and that the patient needed an urgent transplant. Since the lockdown, all DATRI procedures were on hold. We knew that cancer waits for no one and this was a challenge for us to save a patient’s life.
Donor counseling was initiated, and we found our 1st positive sign – when a donor agreed to the PBSC donation. Since it was the first collection after the lockdown, it was also a learning period for the DATRI Team. Due to the prevailing pandemic, we could not take the donor to the Apheresis center for medical check-up and screening.
Every process post the pandemic had to be redrafted to include the prevailing situation. The field team arranged for an e-pass with the help of Government officials. Two days before the IDMs, a COVID RTPCR donor test was done. We received the negative report only after 36 hours – as the labs were struggling with many samples to the process as the COVID cases were increasing in leaps and bounds in Apr 2020.
Donor Medical check-up was planned The doctor advised the donor to wear a mask and gloves continuously, use sanitizer often and face shield and use the emergency exit to minimize any exposure to COVID or another virus in the hospital.
Our Apheresis Centre physicians maintained a very friendly environment throughout the process so that the donor feels comfortable during the physical examination and other tests. The doctor also advised the donor to be isolated for the next 14 days, to have healthy food, and consume plenty of liquids and keep the body hydrated – as this would improve the quality of the blood stem cells.
The DATRI team was delighted as this was the 1st medical check-up since the lockdown. But it was too early to celebrate as we had only reached half away. After two weeks, we received the donor reports and confirmatory typing. The good news continued! The donor was eligible to donate and we had received clearance from both the patient’s physician and the apheresis physician.
Based on the patient’s doctor’s request, the collection was planned on a mutually agreed date with the donor and the apheresis team. As per DATRI’s protocol, the COVID RTPCR donor test was repeated two days before the start of GCSF. The 3rd COVID test would be done on day 3 of GCSF to ensure that the donor had a negative COVID report at the time of donation.
The city had many containment zones and hot spots, travelling from one area to another was a challenge. Getting an e-pass was cumbersome and needed multiple approvals. India was still learning to deal with the pandemic and each department and state had its own rules. Also, these rules kept changing and being modified and the field team was stretched to ensure the latest rules were known and documents prepared as per the latest requirement. The field team and the back-end team worked like a well-oiled machine to ensure there were no gaps and we administered the GCSF at the donor’s residence. The team ensured that minimal discomfort should be faced by the donor during the process.
As per another new protocol – thanks to COVID – The Donor’ and the field team’s temperatures were also continuously monitored and recorded. At last, the donation day arrived, DATRI did the first collection after the lockdown! We overcame all obstacles and kept our focus on successfully completing a collection despite numerous challenges.
Due to lockdown, transportation was another challenge. Domestic flights were in operational and DATRI employees transported the product across the breadth of India to deliver the product to the patient’s doctor. It was more than 24 hours round trip by road! The team rose up to the challenge and delivered the product in record time. The entire team celebrated once the transport team returned home. it was a job well done! We realized that problems are opportunities to showcase our mettle. It is easy to count the hurdles in doing any work, but as they say … when the going gets tough the tough get going.
The collection not only helped gift a life – it also proved that there is always a ray of hope even in the darkest cloud. We are thankful to our team who went the extra mile in leaving any stone unturned to make this collection happen. We also extend our thanks to our partners – the apheresis doctor and team, the transplant doctor, and the donor who supported us.
You could be the ray of hope in the darkness of blood cancer for a patient. Register today and join us in gifting a life!
You can also send monetary contributions to serve the cause.
About DATRI:
DATRI is a Not-for-Profit organization founded in 2009 with a mission to save lives of those suffering from life-threatening Fatal blood disorders like Blood Cancer, Thalassemia, Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Sickle Cell Anaemia, etc.
DATRI is registered with the Government of India as a Section 8 organization, and all monetary contributions towards DATRI are subject to 80G exemptions
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About the Author:
Revan, is a passionate Biotechnologist and oncology researcher who is been working as a Senior Associate at DATRI for more than 2 years. He is specialized in communicating with Medical fraternities across the country and facilitates donations. He enjoys traveling, adventure trips, and a movie buff who has the patience to watch and review any genre. A connoisseur who truly celebrates food.