This Mother Is Risking Her Own Life To Save Her Daughter From Dying

"My daughter needs an urgent liver transplant. Doctors told someone from the family should become a donor and I came forward to save my girl. Tests showed that I am a matched donor. I was happy thinking that I can now save my daughter. But God had other plans.  I became very sick after the tests and couldn’t even do household work. A biopsy showed that there were some problems with my liver. But what’s relieving is that I can still be my daughter’s donor. I don’t mind if I die trying to save my daughter’s life," - Chithra, mother of 7-year-old Gopika. 

Gopika’s mother will be risking her life to save her daughter’s. She will be reducing her own survival rate if she doesn’t get immediate care and treatment after donating. But in spite of all this struggle, she worries for being a burden to her husband for adding to his medical expenses. The transplant needs to happen at the earliest but the parents have nothing with which they can afford the treatment.



7-year-old Gopika loves her colouring books and playing with her little brother. Her life was ordinary until six months back when her body started showing symptoms of liver disease. She stopped eating properly and her stomach started bloating, putting her in a lot of pain.

We thought it could be due to indigestion and sent her to school the next day. After a few hours, her teachers called, asking us to take our daughter to a hospital as she looks too weak to even sit in the class. We panicked and took her to a doctor in our village. He asked us to take her to a bigger hospital in the city and it was then we knew my child has liver disease and will die without an urgent liver transplant - Narayanasamy, father

Gopika is diagnosed with Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease, a condition where she has scarring in her liver. Scarring occurs when her liver is damaged and scar tissue forms as it tries to repair itself. It can be cured or controlled with medications but she has severe damage which can be cured only with a liver transplant.

If someone has to die, let it be me - not my daughter

"She cries and pushes my hand whenever I try to feed her. Her stomach is swollen and she has lost her appetite. She doesn’t even eat her favourite dish that I cook. My daughter is getting weaker each day and it is painful to see that my cheerful little girl is now tired even to smile. I want to do everything to save her life but where will we get so much money?" - Chithra, mother 

For the liver transplant, Gopika’s parents have to pay Rs. 18 lakhs at the earliest. Her father who was a farmer has now turned to do odd construction jobs to manage the expenses as he couldn’t rely on farming due to drought.

Monsoons have failed me as a farmer and now I’m failing as a father and a husband too

Narayanasamy had to leave farming because of no rains and he started working as a daily wager in construction sites. Farming was the only skill he knew but he had to take up this work to look after his family and her daughter’s medical needs. But after a hard day’s work under the sun all he earns is only Rs. 250.

How can I save my daughter’s life with that money? Now, my wife too is sick and I have to look after the medical expenses for both of them. My wife is risking her life to save my daughter and I can't even pay for the treatment. Every day my daughter asks “Appa, when are we going back home after the operation?”. She has high hopes that her father will reduce her pain. But how will I tell her that I’m not capable of paying for her treatment? - Narayanasamy.

Help this struggling family who will lose their beloved daughter without an urgent liver transplant. Your kind contribution can save a little girl’s life.

Supporting Document

The specifics of this case have been verified by the medical team at the concerned hospital. For any clarification on the treatment or associated costs, contact the campaign organizer or the medical team.

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