CELEBRATION OF LIVES GIFTED
Sharing gifts between families and friends are quite usual but have you ever gifted a stranger with something priceless? Yes, Blood Stem Cell Donation is about gifting a stranger an incomparable priceless gift of life. Please scroll down to read our Donor-Recipient meet articles, to understand the myriad of emotions expressed during the first time meeting of the patient and the donor.
REBIRTH OF LONG LOST SISTER
Garima Saraswat was diagnosed of Mixed Phenotypic Acute Leukemia in December 2016. She was shattered about the uncertainty of life. The only way for cure was a Blood Stem Cell/Bone Marrow Transplant as suggested by the doctor. But the transplant needs a HLA match for Garima, which they couldn’t find in the family. Her family tried their best to find a HLA match for Garima, but all the efforts were in vein. Finally, in 2017, the cure for Garima, came in form of Gurumoorthy.
Guru, is a registered Bone Marrow Donor/ Blood Stem Cell Donor and was already aware of the responsibility he was shouldering. Guru had a cousin who had Blood Cancer and hence he knows that Blood Stem Cell Donation was the only available for the disease. So that night, when a DATRI representative called Guru, to check with him about his willingness to Donate Blood Stem Cell, Guru didn’t hesitate for a minute and accepted for the donation to, so he could save a life as soon as possible. Garima, underwent the transplant in 2017 and could be nothing but grateful for her second chance of life. She conveyed her heartfelt thanks to Guru, for his generous decision to save a life of a person he had never met. Meeting Garima during the Donor-Recipient Meet he was overwhelming with emotions. He shared his emotions about his cousin’ pain.
Gurumoorthi registered himself as a Unrelated Blood Stem Cell Donor in the month of Oct 2016, in Masonic Clinic – Coimbatore. At that time least did he know that, he would be saving a life at stake but was that he will be readily available for a patient if he gets a chance. Gurumoorthi’s wife and mother were equally happy to meet Garima and blessed her with eternal good health. In Garima, Guru’s family found his sister whom they lost at a very young age.
Garima and Guru sincerely appreciates the efforts by team DATRI. They also wished that everyone should get a chance to celebrate the second life.
Garima Saraswat (Recipient – Left)
21-Feb-2018 | Delhi
A BROTHER FROM ANOTHER MOTHER
Gayathri Gunarajan, is an Interior Designer from Hyderabad who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia just after three months of her first pregnancy. Luckily she found a match in 2015 and underwent a Blood Stem Cell Transplant.
During the DRM, when Gayathri met her donor Sivakumar, she had uncontrollable tears and went speechless while expressing her gratitude. Gayathri conveyed her heartfelt thanks by saying that the donor, Sivakumar has gifted her son his mother back, which is the most precious gift to her family. She also thanked her husband who was a pillar of support during the treatment.
Siva Kumar Meenakshisundaram, Gayathri’ donor is a Team Lead at Scope International in Chennai. He registered himself as a Blood Stem Cell donor in 2013 He was equally overwhelmed l when he met Gayathri and her son. He shared his feelings by hugging him and gave a small gift as a token of love.
Gayathri Gunaranjan (Recipient – Left)
23-Jul-2016 | Bangalore
A RAY OF HOPE LIES BEYOND THE FAMILY
Fateh was a little boy diagnosed from Thalassemia. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a Bone Marrow Match/ Blood Stem Cell Match in his family. But Fateh was blessed enough to find an unrelated donor from DATRI was a match for him. The donation to Fateh was held in 2016 and Thalassemia Treatment went smooth.
One-year post transplant, Fateh and his entire family came to meet the Hero who saved their bundle of joy’ life.
Fateh’ family was brimming with emotions about meeting the donor. They were excited and equally grateful to meet the stranger who is now a part of the family. Naval was a 26-year-old corporate employee who registered as a Blood Stem Cell Donor in 2015 and was luckily found as a match in 2016.
Navel has varied thoughts about him donating, but the cause of saving a life weighed much more than himself. He was equally excited about meeting his recipient, with whom he now has a blood bond. Fateh family was in tears when they met Navel, now they’re no more strangers!
Fateh Singh (Recipient – Left)
18-May-2017 | Bangalore
TIES BEYOND TIDES
Shreemali Balasooriya is a 7 yr old Srilankan girl who was diagnosed with Thalassemia, while she was 2 months old. She underwent a Blood Stem Cell Transplant in 2017 with the Blood Stem Cells Donated by Dr Kanmani in Cochin
In 2013, Dr.Kanmani who was then a student of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham registered as a Blood Stem Cell Donor in a camp which was organized by her inspirational Professor, Dr Neeraj. After that day she had safely kept her Donor Registration Card always with her, waiting for her turn. One fine day, her wish did come true through DATRI. All that she knew was, a patient is in need of her help and being a Doctor, she knew the difficulty of finding a HLA match for a Thalassemia patient.
Dr.Kanmani is the First Woman Blood Stem Cell Donor from Kerala. During the DRM Dr Kanmani, shared her donation experience, which happened a day before her graduation. She doesn’t regret a bit missing all the fun and excitement over the graduation day. All that she could feel was contentment from the day she donated, till the day she met Shreemali Balasooriya on stage. She also encouraged the audience, who are her juniors to register themselves as a Blood Stem Cell Donor and be ready to donate if they get that one in a million chance to save a life.
During the DRM the auditorium was filled with joy and love of the Srilankan kid Shreemali Balasooriya, who has crossed oceans to meet her donor and express her heartfelt thanks through her kisses and a warm hug. Shreemali Balasooriya can now happily dance forever and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
K-Shreemali Balasooriya (Recipient – Right)
DRM-3-May-2018 | Kochi
