New Delhi, 14 November 2020: Mirae Asset Foundation (MAF) has increased the Covid-19 testing capabilities of 2 premier institutions, at Mumbai and Thane. The foundation has donated one RNA extraction and 1 RT PCR machine and a laboratory freezer to the Haffkine Institute, Mumbai and one RNA extraction machine to the Rajiv Gandhi Medical College (RGMC) & Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital (CSM Hospital), Kalwa, to support these two institutions in their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The total cost of the machines is approximately Rs 60 lakh. Also made available are 2,400 viral extraction test kits to ensure seamless processing of testing capabilities.
The 120-year-old Haffkine Institute of Research & Training and CSM Hospital / & Rajiv Gandhi Medical College Kalwa serve the healthcare needs of the people in Palghar, Mira Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar, Roha and NMMC region, Thane, Diva, Mumbra, Kharghar & Thane Urban surrounding areas. These areas are among those that reported high incidences of Covid19 cases.
The fully-automated machines minimise chances of secondary infections for lab personnel while increasing the number of test results on a daily basis. The machines have a capacity of conducting 144 tests per day in an 8-hour shift at each of the institutions, with results that are now available much faster.
Presently at Haffkine’s, this infrastructure addition increases throughput by 50%. From 200 tests per day it can increase to 300 with optimum usage of resources. Currently at Kalwa, 192 tests are manually processed, and with this technology addition, it would increase to 336 tests a day.
Mirae Asset Foundation is a Mumbai-based not for profit charitable organisation registered as a Section 8 company in 2018, and part of the Mirae Asset Financial Group’s CSR activities. It primarily works across several areas of educational development in India.
