"Priya loves running about in the fields. She is always there with me when I am tending to the crops. But a little too much running makes her out of breath. She keeps asking me when she would be able to play like her friends, I don’t know what to tell her,” - Punjaram, father.
Suvarna and Punjaram’s daughter Priya was diagnosed with Thalassemia when she was only 3 months old. Her body produces lower than normal amounts of hemoglobin. She gets easily tired. She needs blood transfusions twice a month - any delay in that makes her weak and pale.
Little Priya thinks she's special, unaware that she needs a transplant to live
5-year-old Priya thinks she is the special one among her siblings since her mother takes no one else but only her twice a month to Aurangabad. True it is for her blood transfusions but the little girl has gotten so used to the entire procedure that she no longer thinks her life can be different. So she enjoys the bus rides to and fro Aurangabad thinking this is how it is for a child her age. But she doesn't know there is hope for her - a bone marrow transplant can save her from her blood disease. However, her parents don’t know how they can afford the transplant that can save their daughter’s life.
Her sister is a matched donor but Punjaram has no means to afford the transplant
Transfusions are no longer enough for Priya. She gets frequent fevers and is very weak. The doctors have told the parents that a bone marrow transplant is her only hope. They were lucky to find a fully matched donor for Priya in their elder daughter, Divya. Priya needs the transplant as soon as possible but it would cost Punjaram around 14 lakhs.
“Last year I met with an accident where a car ran over my legs - I had a big surgery and I am still unable to walk properly. I had borrowed more than a lakh from my friends then, I am yet to pay them back. How do I go up to them and ask for more help?”
After his surgery Punjaram can’t go to work, he needs your help to save his daughter
Punjaram is a farmer in a small village in Maharashtra. He owns 1 hectare of land and grows maize but for the last one year, there are hardly been any harvest.
“With no rain and no water supply, I haven’t been able to grow anything on my fields. On top of that, my surgery doesn’t even allow me to work on others’ farms for money. We are managing with whatever little we have - sometimes skipping meals so that we can feed our children. Every day we delay Priya’s transplant we are putting her life to risk. I can’t bear to think what will happen if we can’t afford the transplant. Please help me.”
5-year-old Priya needs a bone marrow transplant at the earliest, her sister is a matched donor too. But her father has nothing left with him to afford the transplant. A small contribution from your side can save Priya
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.
