Most children get familiar with a routine while they grow up – going to school, coming back, playing with friends and siblings, spending quality time with family, etc. Niya Fathima’s life is different and always has been, ever since she was diagnosed with blood cancer at the age of four. Her routine only involves trips to the doctor, hospitalization, getting sick and being administered daily injections and medicines.

“The worst part of cancer stealing my daughter’s childhood is how she has become used to all this. She does not flinch at the sight of injections, nor do they hurt her. Even when the chemo makes her pale and physically sick, she does not complain as she thinks all this is normal”- Mohammed Shafi, father of 8-year-old Niya Fathima

Niya Fathima is suffering from a relapsed case of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of blood cancer that occurs in the blood and bone marrow, affecting white blood cells. Doctors have ascertained that the only way she can be saved is through an urgent bone marrow transplant.

She was supposed to start school this year, but cancer cruelly stopped it

After battling cancer for more than two years, Niya was declared cancer-free in 2020. Her parents were relieved after doctors gave them this news, relieved their daughter would not have to go through painful chemotherapy and stray from a normal life. She was supposed to start going to school then, but the pandemic put a stop to that. Her parents got admission for her again at the end of 2021 after the pandemic ceased to be a major problem, but this time her cancer came back.

“When she ran a high fever for more than three days continuously, we knew something was wrong. The pattern was repeating. And our worst fears came true when tests indicated that her cancer was back.”- Mohammed Shafi, tearfully.

Her little brother is a donor match, but her parents cannot afford the transplant

Niya Fathima’s father, Mohammed Shafi works as a daily wage labourer in their hometown of Malappuram, while her mother Shifana is a homemaker. As Niya has been battling cancer on and off for more than four years now, they have been under great financial duress. They have been borrowing money from friends and relatives, and have not been able to pay them back in full. Now that their daughter needs an urgent bone marrow transplant, things have become tougher.

“Our 5-year-old son is a positive match and can donate his bone marrow to keep his sister alive. But we are in dire need of funds. We have so little time and have not been able to get even a fraction of the money needed for the transplant. Please help us.”- Mohammed Shafi.

These parents can save their ailing child with your kind help.