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A young doctor from Odisha, Dr. Biswashree Gyanranjan Nayak is a homeopathic physician who is treating kids and poor people suffering from thalassemia free of cost.
Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body does not produce the required amount of hemoglobin from the bone marrow, causing further destruction of the of immature hemoglobin cells. This results in excessive loss of red blood cells that leads to an anaemic condition. Hence, thalassemic patients immediately require blood transfusion to survive. Due to excessive destruction of hemoglobin, the serum ferritin level and the spleen size also increase. Along with this, some other symptoms include weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, bone and joint pain, and irritability. Kids diagnosed with Thalassemia have to undergo treatment for the rest of their lives.
Dr. Nayak says, “After I started my private practice in Bhubaneswar, I witnessed the plight of children suffering from thalassemia. This triggered something in me emotionally, like a calling to my inner self. I could not contain my empathy for the parents of these kids. I started providing free medical consultation and supply of homeopathic drugs to the kids suffering from thalassemia.”
Dr Nayak feels that it is essential to make people aware of this deadly disease. To prevent the spread of thalassemia, he is currently organising awareness campaigns in colleges and universities so as to prevent the spread of the disease from the grassroot level. “If youngsters understand its repercussions and get their blood checked up before marriage, the risk of thalassemia can be reduced. If both the couple are identified with minor thalassemia, there is a lot of risk to the child. Thus, our campaign stresses on pre-marriage blood check up”, he said.
Nearly 200 patients suffering from thalassemia are regularly given free medical consultation and medicines by Dr. Nayak. Every month, 3-4 more patients get added to the list. The treatment provided to the children increases the gap of blood transfusion and also aids in declining the associated complaints like irritation, bloated abdomen, anemic with pale color of body, swelling, loss of appetite, general weakness and dizziness.
Recollecting the challenges faced by him, Dr Nayak revealed that the initial few days were full of confusion and obstacles. “I was unable to gather the courage to afford the cost of treatment to the patients. Additionally, connecting to the patients was also greatly difficult”, he said.
Today, patients from all across Odisha and even outside of Odisha approach Dr. Nayak to avail the free treatment and medicines. However, Dr. Nayak has been finding it difficult to support more patients because of the lack of funds. Your help will ensure that Dr. Nayak can continue to treat the thalassemia affected kids.
