Nafisa Ali’s niece donates plasma after recovering from coronavirus, read her inspiring story here

In a series of Instagram posts, Nafisa Ali explained to the people the process of donating plasma to treat people diagnosed with COVID-19 and also added that she is very proud of her niece. She called her a COVID-19 hero.

Image Courtesy: Instagram/@nafisaalisodhi

New Delhi: Actress Nafisa Ali, who is a cancer survivor, has shared the inspiring story of her niece Diya Naidu, who donated plasma after recovering from coronavirus. In a series of Instagram posts, Nafisa has explained to the people the process of donating plasma to treat people diagnosed with COVID-19 and also added that she is very proud of Diya. The veteran actress called her a COVID-19 hero. Diya lives in Bengaluru and donated her plasma recently.

“My darling niece Diya Naidu - I am so grateful to you brave child - a COVID19 warrior (living in Bangalore) has agreed to donate her plasma to help cure other COVID19 serious patients,” she wrote initially.

“The process of donating plasma to treat COVID-19 is not very complex and can be done in just two hours. One of the most discussed methods of treatment of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is plasma therapy, which involves the transfusion of plasma from a convalescent coronavirus patient to a critical patient. The blood of a recovering patient is rich in antibodies produced by the body to fight the virus, which are expected to help the critical patient recover,” Nafisa added.

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My darling niece Diya Naidu - I am so grateful to you brave child - a COVID19 warrior ( living in Bangalore) has agreed to donate her plasma to help cure other COVID19 serious patients. The process of donating plasma to treat COVID-19 is not very complex and can be done in just two hours. One of the most discussed methods of treatment of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus is plasma therapy, which involves the transfusion of plasma from a convalescent coronavirus patient to a critical patient. The blood of a recovering patient is rich in antibodies produced by the body to fight the virus, which are expected to help the critical patient recover.#covid_19 #plasmadonation #india

A post shared by nafisa ali sodhi (@nafisaalisodhi) on Apr 27, 2020 at 2:37am PDT

Diya donated the plasma recently and shared the experience on her Instagram timeline. In a separate post, Nafisa also urged people to read the first-hand account of her COVID-19 story. “It is the need of the hour. Help save lives,” she wrote.

 Read it here:

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Diya Naidu my niece - a COVID19 hero- is back home after donating her plasma -looks like liquid gold -it’s value is priceless as it will save lives .So please read her COVID19 story and share the information that is first hand . It is the need of the hour. Help save lives . #diyanise. #diyanaidu #covid_19 #india

A post shared by nafisa ali sodhi (@nafisaalisodhi) on Apr 27, 2020 at 8:56am PDT

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Hello again. Another #covid19 update. They have just started an amazing plasma donation effort in Karnataka.The doctors are not allowed, but asked me to put this out there so here it is. I donated today. This method has been super effective wherever its been tried. The blood of a Covid recovered person is taken and separated into red blood cells and plasma. The plasma ( in pic) which is full of antibodies is given to a critical patient. What you see here is 1/3rd of the amount they took. This was after 1st cycle. They do 3. Basically that full bag is given to JUST ONE PATIENT. This means that the need for donors is pressing. But the process is so hopeful that it's great news.If you know people who have recovered please let them know. If they inbox me I will immediately put them touch with the doctors concerned. Feel free to pass on my number. The red blood cells are then returned to the donors body via the same needle so its very safe. All needles, tubing etc is disposed of as bio hazard. There is nothing to be afraid of. The normal pain that needles bring and a bit of wooziness. I am fine now and during the procedure was given calcium to eat as blood calcium dips. The doctor has asked me to really take care of myself so I can donate again in 2 weeks. It took about 4 to 5 hours or so, from the moment they picked me up to return me as preliminary tests had to be done to make sure I have no renal disease or HIV etc.This time taken will reduce for sure as I was only the 2nd person in the state to donate and they were figuring a few things out.Knowing that it could help a critical patient survive makes any pain, time, energy spent totally worth it.Please let people know that safe and successful ways are being explored and that there is hope. On a side note, it really helped them that I am physically active - in doctor speak, "good veins". The person before me had to donate through the neck as his veins were not large enough! When I asked why, this was their explanation.So do consider doing some regular movement that pumps the veins and muscles and improves the circulation and lung capacity.The medical team were amazing.lets try and help them. #inthistogether

A post shared by Diya Naidu (@diyanise) on Apr 27, 2020 at 8:05am PDT

Health warriors have explored convalescent plasma therapy as a preventive measure to fight the novel coronavirus. The therapy aims at using antibodies from the blood of a recovered COVID-19 patient to treat those critically infected by the virus.

In India, as of Tuesday morning, coronavirus cases crossed the 29,000-mark with a death toll of 934.