As blood plasma therapy is being used around the world to treat COVID-19 patients, a tweet posted in Pakistan has started a debate on the issue in the country – is charging for a recovered COVID-19 patient's plasma ethical?
On June 13, Twitter user @BauhatSara posted her thoughts on the issue and it has left tweeps divided: “People are making money by selling their plasma to patients in Pakistan. Humanity is dead.”
There were those like user @ShoaibRath who thought that it was not a problem: “Nothing wrong with it.”
While, tweep @thenameissaif thought the matter was complicated: “People sell kidneys too and blood too. People give it free too. People give plasma free too. Everyone is what they think is good. So, it's complex.”
There were also those who thought that each case could be looked at differently and the morality of the issue might depend on the background of the receiver and giver.
User @SalmanRizvi90 tweeted: “If the receiver is well off and wants to pay the donor (who is poor) on his own accord then there should be no issue. However, demanding money for blood plasma during such a time is inhumane.”
However, some argued that a donation should not be seen as a source of income.
User @mannanzaheer wrote: “These people are worse creatures. Imagine being through such a pain, anxiety, fear and depression after getting diagnosed and now instead of helping people, you are adding to their misery.”
On June 13, tweep @DentistwithFood shared a screenshot of a conversation about the price of a “bottle” of plasma and wrote: “Just received this! Shame shame shame!”
According to the screen grab, one “bottle” was priced at PKR 1.2 lakhs (approximately Dh2, 670).
In mid-May, Pakistan’s National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD) confirmed that the first coronavirus patient who had been treated with plasma therapy had recovered.
