IAS officer-turned-actor starts plasma donation, oxygen taxi service to aid COVID patients

The sudden sharp rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country has led to increasing demand for oxygen supply and blood plasma from people who have recovered from the viral infection with antibodies against Coronavirus. At a time when people are in distress and struggling to seek help from others, IAS Officer turned actor Abhishek Singh has come out as a ray of hope for those searching for credible plasma donors. His initiative 'United by Blood' is a step towards creating the largest repository for plasma and establish real-time and seamless contact between donors & recipients.

IAS officer-actor launches plasma donation portal

Talking about the initiative and its advantages, Singh told ANI, "There is a lot of misinformation and mystery regarding blood plasma for COVID-19 patients. There are very few donors available and very few plasma banks." "People on social media are looking for blood plasma and plasma donors. I thought why not make a platform to bring everybody together at a digital platform. On one hand, we have donors and on another hand, we have people requesting plasma. The concept is similar to booking an Ola and Uber, by capturing the location of both donors and those who need it," he added.

The initiative was started with an aim to close these gaps that the idea of this portal under United by Blood was conceived. The majority of the donors are youngsters under the age of 30”, said IAS Abhishek Singh. A not-for-profit mission-driven by Abhishek is already getting viral on social media and has seen 1000+ registrations in just five days of its launch. On the online portal, the recipient and donor are required to fill a one-page form, where they give details like name, phone number, and location is captured automatically. "You will be shown a list of donors as per your location. Then you click on a particular donor or recipient. Our website will connect you with them directly," Singh added. Highlighting the second initiative 'Oxytaxi', the 2011 batch IAS officer Singh said,

Shelling out some major information about the initiative, Abhishek revealed that "Yesterday we started this initiative for the home delivery of oxygen cylinders, especially for people who are not able to come out. Civil society members have also been supporting us. People can request an 'Oxytaxi' through the same website." The required information for availing of the service is a SpO2 level reading, a prescription from a doctor, and an empty cylinder. 'Oxytaxi' project is for oxygen cylinders. Under the project, a volunteer team delivers 100 oxygen cylinders to people in need every day.

'Unitedbyblood' has become a nationwide success as people from Bangalore in Karnataka, to Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, and Gujarat. It is benefitting and connecting people in need with service providers." Abhishek’s all the services that he has started are completely free of cost. Meanwhile, on the professional front, Abhishek appeared in the popular series Delhi Crime. His role was widely appreciated. He also featured in music videos Tujhe Bhoolna Toh Chaha sung by Jubin Nautiyal and Dil Tod Ke voiced by B Praak. 

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image credit: ANI/ PR HANDOUT)