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Story #26 of 50 days, 50 Stories Campaign
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DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry organized a very special meet to celebrate the spirit of two young professionals Dr. Shruti Kakkar and Mr. Prakash Kumar who saved the lives of 5-year-old Vanshika Rohra, and 3-year-old Disha KG by donating their Blood Stem Cells. The two were cured of Thalassemia and Hurler’s Syndrome respectively. The donors and recipients met for the first time during PHOCON 2018 – a leading annual Paediatric Haematology Oncology Conference held in Bangalore.
Father of 3-year-old Disha KG, Mr.G.K. Gowri Sankar, said, “I strongly believe that while God cannot be around to directly help us, he sends messengers to do so. The donor and the DATRI family have been God sent.” The miracle did take place when Prakash Kumar, a 35-year-old professional from Udupi, Karnataka working as Manager of Inter-Company Process at Oracle India Pvt Ltd in Bangalore was found to be a perfect match for 3-year-old Disha. Dr. Revathi Raj, Paediatric Hemato-Oncologist from Chennai and Disha’s transplant physician, said, “Relentless efforts of DATRI over the years have gifted lives to many of the patients.
Nearly 81 of my patients have found their HLA-matched donors through DATRI. However, there are still many who can be saved if more volunteer donors can come forward to become Blood Stem Cell donors.”
A very emotional Mr. Neeraj Rohra, father of 5-year-old Vanshika who was born with Thalassemia Major said, “It was very difficult for us to see Vanshika undergo painful blood transfusions every month. Today, my daughter is living a normal life.
Simple thanks cannot express the deep gratitude we have for the selfless donor and DATRI for gifting a new life to my daughter. For the first time in India, a haematologist has donated Blood Stem Cells to an unknown recipient.
Dr. Shruti Kakkar, a 37-year-old doctor had registered with DATRI during a drive at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital in Ludhiana in May 2017 and donated Blood Stem cells to Vanshika. Transplant physicians of Ms. Vanshika, Dr. Santanu Sen, Senior Hemeto-Oncologist Dr. Sunil Bhat, and Representative of DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry were present on the occasion.
About DATRI:
DATRI is a Not-for-Profit organization founded in 2009 with a mission to save lives of those suffering from life-threatening Fatal blood disorders like Blood Cancer, Thalassemia, Leukemia, Aplastic Anemia, Sickle Cell Anaemia, etc.
DATRI is registered with the Government of India as a Section 8 organization, and all monetary contributions towards DATRI are subject to 80G exemptions
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