AIIMS doctors team up with IIT-Delhi to launch app for patients needing plasma therapy

 Resident doctors of AIIMS with help of IIT-Delhi students have developed a mobile application to track real-time COVID-19 patients in hospital, who can become potential plasma dors 28 days after recovery along with those who have been discharged.

app named COPAL-19 has details of patients who have alrey been discharged from AIIMS, those currently undergoing treatment and ir blood groups so that patients who require plasma rapy can get it in time without any hassle, AIIMS RDA President, Dr arsh Pratap Singh, said.

"Amidst short of dors for plasma rapy, team of AIIMS Resident Doctors along with IIT-Delhi team developed an app to correct mismatch between COVID-19 discharged patients and patients requiring plasma donation. It was a great initiative by Dr Abhinav Singh Verma and IIT Delhi students," Dr Singh said.

app was launched at premier hospital on occasion of Doctors' Day.

Dr Verma, a resident doctor of neurosurgery department at AIIMS, main person behind COPAL-19 app, said its a simple user interface application with automated dor matching.

Though it has been launched for AIIMS patients primarily for w, app will be available on open platforms. It will be an open source code app which people from or institutions can copy and use in ir hospitals, Dr Verma said.

"This app will act as a bridge between patients seeking plasma rapy and are moderately and severely symptomatic and dors who have recovered from COVID-19 and have completed 28 days post recovery," Dr Verma explained.

app will also automatically track dors who will be eligible to donate plasma after a cycle of every 14 days.

He also referred to case of his senior who got infected with virus and recalled difficulties y h to face arranging plasma for him.

"Finding plasma for him turned out to be a herculean task. We randomly contacted our friends and put it up on social media platforms, but even n arranging a plasma dor took more than 12 hours.

"We were alrey working on developing such an app but it was after this incident that we really pushed for it and finally launched it today," he said.

"Currently, 70 plasma dors are registered with application," Dr Verma said.

Once app goes live, anybody who wants to register mselves as a plasma dor can simply downlo app and fill in ir details in a simple format. AIIMS blood bank is also linked by a back-end so y will also get details and help needy patients get it.

Patients also can register mselves and get details of plasma dors matching ir blood group.