This Teenager Has Only 7 Days To Get A Life-Saving | Milaap
This Teenager Has Only 7 Days To Get A Life-Saving Transplant, Help
  • Sravan

    Created by

    Sravan
  • Uw

    This fundraiser will benefit

    Utkarsh warghat

    from Washim, Maharashtra

Sunil and Surekha sit beside their son’s hospital bed as he sleeps, feeling extremely on edge. Utkarsh has a tendency to talk in his sleep and lately, he has been saying the names of family members that have passed away. His parents are already terrified of losing him to liver and kidney failure, and this has made them feel even more unsettled. They keep praying that nothing bad happens to their son.

15-Year-Old Utkarsh’s liver and kidneys have stopped working. Only a liver transplant can save him, and he needs it within a week's time. But his parents are unable to afford his treatment.

What started as Hepatitis A, gradually progressed to liver failure

In 2015, Utkarsh was diagnosed with Hepatitis A, a liver infection, and prescribed medication as treatment. He would have frequent stomach pains and fatigue because of the infection. He tried to assure his parents that he was okay, but only 4 days later his condition began to deteriorate.

“We expected the medicines to control the infection and eventually reduce it, but there was absolutely no progress in his condition. We had to shuffle from one big hospital to another and the whole time my son was in excruciating pain. At a hospital in Nagpur, his condition worsened to the point that he was critical. That is when we learned that his liver was failing, and slowly even his kidneys started giving out…” - Sunil, father

He’s had a blood disease since he was a child

When he was only 5 years old, Utkarsh was diagnosed with a blood disorder called Sickle Cell Disease. It is a condition where the red blood cells (RBC) contort into a crescent shape, imitating a sickle. It causes the cells to die early, leaving the blood with a shortage of healthy RBC and can even block blood flow. Utkarsh had been on medication for this condition for the past 10 years.  

The doctors said he had only a few days to live

As a part of the treatment for his liver, Utkarsh would be given some injections from time to time. His parents could tell that the treatment was painful for him, yet he held on. But one day, his nose started to bleed and there were traces of blood in his vomit.
 
The doctors told us it would be best for us to stop his treatment and that he only had a few days to live, at most. I couldn’t even fathom it. There was no way I would give up on my child. My husband and I refused to stop his treatment. And just 2 days later, he started showing signs of improvement. We were then told to shift him to a hospital in Hyderabad that is better equipped to treat him..” - Surekha, mother

With a small income, his father is struggling to afford his expensive treatment

As Utkarsh’s condition began to improve, he contracted jaundice. Now, he needs a liver transplant within the next week, which will cost at least INR 20 lakhs. Sunil, a government employee makes a meagre income and has managed to pay for his son’s treatment until now by borrowing from relatives, taking loans and mortgaging a small piece of land.

“The hope that my son will get better soon, and that I will see him playing cricket with his friends again, is the only thing that is keeping me going. Every day he begs me to take him home because he is tired of being in the hospital, and I assure him that we will be able to leave soon. But the truth is that I don’t know when that will be. Only this transplant can save him now, and I don’t know how I will get him that. I can’t do this on my own. Please help me…” - Sunil

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