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“On December 25, his gums started bleeding. We thought it would stop, but they bled the whole day. When we took him to the hospital, a blood test showed his platelets had become dangerously low. We took him to bigger hospitals in Kuppam, and then Kolar and finally to Bangalore because his condition was just not getting better. He had to be admitted for two months.” – Asha, Shakti’s mother.
Shakthi needs blood once in four days to live
Little Shakthi was ready to go to school instead of online classes for the first time when he got sick. He has severe Aplastic Anaemia where his body produces very few blood cells on its own. To live, he needs frequent blood transfusions. This has taken a great toll on his body and the doctor has advised the parents to get a bone-marrow transplant at the earliest since this is dangerous for Shakthi.“He used to be very active, but in the last few months he has lost a lot of weight and is too weak to even get up and play. So it upsets him. He wants to play, and go to school but he can’t. So he asks when he will get better. He knows he needs a big surgery to get better and is waiting for it eagerly." – Asha
Shakthi’s father, a vegetable vendor, is deep in debt because of the treatment
Shakthi’s father Vijay makes a living selling vegetables in a nearby market. In a month, he earns about Rs 10,000 depending on how much he has managed to sell. Every time Shakthi needs blood he needs to spend close to Rs 15,000 on the blood and medicines. They have borrowed a little over Rs 12 lakhs on treatment so far and have nothing left to fund the procedure that will save Shakthi.“He is our only child and we will do anything to save him. The doctors have asked us to get the transplant within this week, but we don’t have the means to save him. We will do anything to see him become healthy and active like he used to be. He is too young to know so much pain and suffering.” – Asha
There is hope for Shakthi if he gets a bone-marrow transplant
Frequent blood transfusions that he now depends on are very dangerous for Shakthi, since it can lead to irreversible damage. He needs a bone-marrow transplant at the earliest if he is to get better. Very luckily, he has found a good match for stem cells from the stem cell donor database. All he needs is some help.Help Shakthi get a bone-marrow transplant and survive this deadly condition. Click here to contribute.
