Mumbai: Eight cops from Khar station lead the way with plasma donations, 10 will follow

MUMBAI: Eight Khar cops were the first in the state force to donate plasma to save those with Covid-19. Another 10 from the station will donate in the coming days. The 18 were infected from March to May.
Senior inspector Gajanan Kabdule said he was proud of his team. “I was approached by a friend, Rahul Rohra, a Khar businessman, who recovered,” Kabdule said.
The first to donate was constable P N Parab, who was admitted to SevenHills hospital in May along with his 78-year-old mother, who succumbed the next day.
“I was unable to save my mother but I got a chance to save others. Initially, I was depressed about my mother’s death. But my team boosted my morale. I learnt that fear kills and those infected fight with will power instead of losing hope,” Parab told TOI.
Rohra said when he approached friends and relatives who had recovered, they were apprehensive to visit the hospital. “This made me approach Kabdule. Few Khar residents’ associations, along with Rotary Club of Bombay Seacoast and Inner Wheel Club of Bombay Seacoast honoured the policemen at a small ceremony with no guests. The group provided protective equipment during the pandemic and is now campaigning for plasma donations,” he said.
Parab said the normal procedure for donating plasma takes at least a month after a person recovers from Covid-19. “We underwent an anti-body test a week and a half back. Two days later, doctors at Nair hospital started calling us one at a time to collect our plasma,” he said.
Joint commissioner of police (law & order) Vinay Choubey said he was proud of the force which has been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic.
“We are there to serve people and save lives,” he added.