On 10th January 2016 we had the 5th Bombay blood group donor meet - the get together of the every special people who have the Bombay blood group. The meeting provides a unique opportunity for people with this rare blood group to come together and deliberate upon issues related to the donation, requests and management of Bombay blood group.
Dr. Lawrence Faulkner. Director Sankalp-People Tree Hospitals Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Bangalore, India and Medical Coordinator Cure2Children Foundation Florence, Italy.
The ideal cure for thalassemia, or for any other genetic disorder, would be to selectively correct the faulty gene in the relevant cell type in a safe, effective and affordable way.
21st January was a landmark day. It was the day when we discharged the 10th children from Sankalp-People Tree Center for Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation. The center which was inaugurated on 27th August 2015 has cured the first 10 children from thalassemia.
Organizing blood donation drives in December has always been a challenge given the fact that most individuals, corporates, students are all on vacations or prefer to spend time at home with families in order to come back afresh for the upcoming new year.
As Sankalp Patrika celebrates six years of publication, we have a good news to share with you. Sankalp Patrika now has an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) - 2455 – 409X.
This eight-digit serial number helps a serial publication get uniquely identified.
The history of our jawans is filled with lesser known tales. While some are lost in the pages of history, others went unnoticed and don’t have shining medals to associate with.
Dear Readers,
We are happy to share the 6th volume of Sankalp Patrika with you. We took upon ourselves what seemed to be like a herculean task to prepare a 16 page newsletter every month way back towards the end of 2010. As we look back, we are very happy we decided to take that step. Sankalp Patrika has helped us connect far and wide.
Thalassemia management November was a challenging month at Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health. Thanks to the 10 government holidays, we had tough time accommodating all the children for transfusions. Looking at the workload at the institute together with the institute we are in the process of getting a doctor exclusively for the thalassemia unit.
Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ullhasnagar, Rajahmundry, Faridabad and Dehradun - in last few months Sankalp India Foundation together with Cure2Children has offered free HLA typing to children suffering from thalassemia who have a healthy sibling. More than 250 families have been offered HLA typing. A fourth of these are likely to find a perfectly matched sibling.
Recently got an opportunity to participate in a blood donation camp in a different state. I was very curious to see how the blood donation camp is organised because there are always those little things which one could learn. The camp was being organised at a public place and it was half way through by the time we reached.
While the clamour to declare thalassemia as a disability grows around the country, year 2015 has brought realisation and reaffirmation to the long held perspective that we have at Sankalp India Foundation for thalassemia.
As part of the counselling and motivational exercise, also as part of the speeches and the writings in the books, often the thalassemia families are told that their child should