Kolkata, WEST BENGAL :

Fuad Halim, doctor & son of ex-Bengal Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim, had drawn attention last year for providing dialysis services to the poor during last year’s Covid lockdown.

Kolkata: 

A year ago, Dr Fuad Halim gained recognition and got appreciation for providing dialysis services to patients dependent upon it, at a time when the nation-wide Covid lockdown was making access to healthcare difficult for non-Covid patients.

He charges just Rs 50 for the procedure that usually costs anything between Rs 1,200 and Rs 2,000 at most hospitals. His patients, both Covid-positive and non-Covid, are mostly from the economically weaker sections of society.

The ‘Communist doctor’, who is a politician too and is also contesting the ongoing West Bengal assembly polls, is continuing the dialysis services at his small clinic near Park Street in south Kolkata.

In the last seven months, however, Halim has also helped Covid patients in a different way — by donating plasma multiple times.

Speaking to ThePrint, Halim said he had tested positive for Covid in July last year, and spent two weeks in a hospital ICU, battling for life. Having fully recovered in August, he donated plasma for the first time in September, said the doctor.

Plasma is a component of the human blood that carries antibodies, and it is believed that plasma therapy can be effective in Covid treatment if it is used after checking for neutralising antibodies. Plasma can be donated  within a gap of 15 days, and the donor can start giving plasma a month after recovering from Covid.

In the last seven months, Halim, 50, claims to have donated plasma seven times.

He is yet to get vaccinated against Covid — anyone who receives the dose cannot donate plasma for 28 days from the date of vaccination.

Son of late Hashim Abdul Halim, who had been Bengal’s longest serving legislative assembly Speaker, Fuad Halim is contesting the Bengal assembly polls as a candidate of the Sanjukta Morcha, an alliance of Congress, CPI(M) and new entrant Indian Secular Front, from south Kolkata’s Ballygunge constituency.

Halim wasn’t, however, seen holding big rallies. His campaign was more focussed on creating Covid awareness. The doctor-turned-politician claimed that his party opted for smaller rallies and concentrated on virtual campaigns.

‘Will continue donating plasma as long as health parameters permit’

“There are two aspects to my life — one of a politician and the other of a doctor. But there is an underlying similarity that bind the two. I became a politician to serve people and as a doctor I am medically trained to do certain specialised things for people. I will continue donating (Plasma) as long as my health parameters permit,” Halim told ThePrint.

According to Halim, an individual can donate plasma if the count of antibodies in the body match a certain level and his other medical parameters are complementary. “My antibody count is very high as of now. And I am still eligible for donation. I donated recently on Friday. I will need another 14 days to donate again, if my health parameters allow me to,” said the doctor-politician who donates his plasma at the Calcutta Medical College.

Plasma can be preserved for at least a year under ideal conditions and a packet of 500 ml plasma can save even two to three lives, he added.

Prasun Bhattacharya, head of Calcutta Medical College, said: “Dr Fuad Halim has donated plasma seven times, which is very rare and unique. Anybody with a high antibody count can donate plasma, but seven times is a very big number. He had very high number of antibody count, that is why we took his plasma. He has saved many lives.”

Dr Indranil Biswas, former medical superintendent and vice-principal of Calcutta Medical College, said, “It is difficult for anyone to donate plasma seven times. It depends on the immunoglobulin (antibody) a person has.”

Halim said he will go in for vaccination only when he is no longer able to donate plasma. “A second Covid wave has hit the country. People who were infected on and after 1 March, will only be eligible to donate from May. That is the protocol. Meanwhile, the need for plasma donors has skyrocketed. If I can save some lives, I will be happy to continue donating,” he added.

With a surge in Covid infections, his three-member team of doctors at his dialysis unit now first screen the patients for Covid. If anyone tests positive, they are admitted to MR Bangur Hospital, a government Covid-treatment facility. After two weeks of the detection of infection, his team starts with the patient’s dialysis.

Halim had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Diamond Harbour on a CPI(M) ticket. He finished a distant third with less than 1 lakh votes, while the winner, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew Abhishek Banerjee, got nearly 8 lakh votes.

(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)

source: http://www.theprint.in / The Print / Home> India / by Madhuparna Das / April 28th, 2021