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Story #11 of 50 days, 50 Stories Campaign
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“Koi na! Pher ki ho gaya! Meri wajah se kise di jaan bach sakdi hai to donate kar denge” – Yes! You guessed it right. The line talks about Avtar Singh, a small barbershop owner in a small village named Kot Khalsa near Amritsar, Education-wise, not even a graduate. Attitude-wise – full-on confidence with a strong desire to save a life.
Avtar Singh was found to be a match for a 14-year-old boy suffering from a rare blood disorder in March 2020. Charath Singh, from Amritsar, who himself is a donor, had counseled him. Avtar was ready for donation. He came to PGIMER, Chandigarh, with Charath Singh for his CT stage IDMs around March 15, 2020. His test reports were okay, and he was fit for donation.
Then came nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 situation from March 22, 2020, onwards. Everything was on hold, and so was Avtar Singh’s donation. Again Avtar Singh’s IDMs were done on April 8, 2021. I was supposed to go for his IDMs, but I was COVID positive. So, Swati came to Chandigarh from Delhi and did his repeat IDMs. All reports were okay, and we were planning to do GCSF from May 8, 2021.
Again due to the second wave, everything had come to a halt, including Avtar Singh’s donation. The second time the efforts and time were wasted due to COVID.
The number of positive COVID cases in India had started reducing by the 3rd week of May 2021. Then again, I contacted Avtar Singh for the donation, and he agreed. So, some of the blood tests were repeated as suggested by AC and TC physicians. Thanks to Swati, with her help, the tests were done. All the blood tests reports were okay.
You must be thinking that by now, everything must have been smooth. Not at all! There was another problem. Avtar Singh’s name in the DATRI registration form was Babbal Kumar, different from the Aadhar card. So, the doctor at the apheresis center insisted on having a legal document, i.e., an affidavit saying that Avtar Singh and Babbal Kumar are the same persons, as per the hospital norms. We got clearance on Avtar Singh’s blood stem cell donation process in the second week of June 2021. June 18, 2021, was the date decided for the collection process.
Avtar Singh was a little nervous, but the staff at the hospital boosted his morale and made him feel comfortable. The collection process started though Avtar Singh’s veins were good. Somehow, the blood flow was a little less. So, the collection process took a little longer than it was thought to be. Approximately after 5 hours, the collection got over.
I want to salute the spirit of Avtar Singh to save a life even after his means of earning; the barbershop got closed due to lockdown during the COVID time. He and his father were struggling to meet the ends by working as daily wagers to provide food to their family. Today, when things are becoming normal after the second wave of COVID, Avtar Singh has also got back to his shop.
DATRI is a Not-for-Profit organization that was founded in 2009 with a mission to save lives of those suffering from life-threatening fatal blood disorders like Blood Cancer, Thalassemia, Leukaemia, Aplastic Anaemia, 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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About the Author:
Anuradha Tandon holds an M. Tech. degree in Control & Automation Engineering. She has total 12 years of teaching experience in various universities across India. ”. After 12 years of fulfilling teaching career, she wanted to give it back to the society. So, she decided to join DATRI in November 2019, having gone through the pain of finding a donor for a family member. She holds a role as a Senior Associate – Partnerships and Medical Affairs.