SURAT: Saeed Ahmed Yusuf, a tailor in
Pardi
town of
Valsad district
, has religiously observed fast during the holy month of Ramadan since he was 12 years old.
But seeing the monster surge in Covid-19 casesa and miseries of people, Yusuf decided to do away with the practice for the first time in 30 years when he got a phone call requesting plasma.
Yusuf, 52, got a call from his friend informing that a Covid-infected patient needed blood plasma and it was the same blood group as his. Since Yusuf contracted the virus in August last year, his family doctor asked him to take an antibody test.
“After all these months too, my antibody count was high, so I did not hesitate in donating the blood plasma,” said Yusuf.
Usually during Ramadan, Yusuf curtails his physical activities as his energy drains. “I get tired now, especially by evening and I do not feel like indulging any slightest physical activity. But that day, I decided to break my fast and donate the plasma,” he said.
“Observing fast during Ramadan is pious but saving somebody’s life during the holy month is even more virtuous,” Yusuf told TOI. If he will be asked to donate after a fortnight, he will do it again, he said.
“We volunteer if the blood bank in
Valsad needs blood or plasma. We are a group of 20 people, so whenever we get a call for blood or blood plasma, we contact people whom we know and ask them too to check if anyone is willing to donate,” said Tarun Patel, who is a volunteer of Emergency Blood Donor group.
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