He raised his hands for the customary greetings as he nervously walked into the counselling room. He was the father of a child who is being prepared for bone marrow transplantation for the last one year. Every Sunday he travels from Chamrajnagar so that we can give his child most carefully monitored therapy.
Although born and raised in Chennapatna, the town of toys, Syed Fahim’s childhood was not a joyous one. His life was different form the other little kids he met in school. Every month, he had to travel to Bangalore – 60 kilometers away from home – for a pint of blood, the only thing his body couldn’t produce. During the rest of his time, he had to juggle between studies and failing health.
Fahim was born in 2011. His mother Samren recalls how seven months after Fahim’s birth, he suffered heavily from cough, cold, and fever. Their local doctor referred him to St. John’s hospital in Bangalore.
In the last month alone, we came across two blood donation camps which we will cherish in the archives of our good memories. On 3rd Jan, Sankalp organized a blood donation camp with the Terapanth Yuva Sangh, a Jain institution located in Gandhinagar, Bengaluru. It was one of those rare camps where women donors outnumbered men.
A lady aged 54-55, who was one of the committee members, was the first donor for the day. What followed next was a crowd of saree-clad middle-aged housewives who were lined up to donate. In a camp where 49 people donated, more than half were women.
By Dr. Lawrence Faulkner. Director Sankalp-People Tree Hospitals Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Bangalore, India and Medical Coordinator Cure2Children Foundation Florence, Italy.
The short answer is no. Why than many families with a child with thalassemia collect and store cord blood?
Fifteen-year-old Pavan Kumar Singh is a known thalassemic child. When he was diagnosed at the age of 3 months, his family did not have an idea what thalassemia was. He was taken to every possible hospital in Bangalore to find out if there was a cure for his condition. Every doctor they met told them that it was a chronic condition and he had to be on treatment and blood transfusion for his well being and survival. His family lost hope and they decided to end their lives along with the kid.
