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Story #45 of 50 days, 50 Stories Campaign
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Akshya from Coimbatore found her Superhero Kaushikbhai Patel from Surat!
Kaushikbhai Mehedrabhai Patel, a 33 year old professional working at Shree Ramkrisha Exports Pvt. Ltd, Surat, met 12-year-old Akshaya Dhanasekaran from Tamil Nadu, whose life he saved by donating his blood stem cells. Akshaya was suffering from Thalassemia Major and she needed regular blood transfusions till she could find a life-saving blood stem cell donor. Kaushikbhai was registered during a drive conducted for a patient last year. He was found to be a match in March 2017. He cancelled a family vacation planned during a festival to donate, and told his wife, “Saving a life is more
important than celebrating a festival.
By donating my Blood Stem Cells I will help someone celebrate their festival forever with the family. The donation will come first and then we will go for the vacation.” During the health tests before the donation, he was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. His treatment started immediately. Even at this time his only concern was that his donation should not get canceled. So as soon as he recovered from his surgery he went ahead with a Blood Stem Cell donation. With intense emotions, Kalaivani, Akshaya’s mother said, “Kaushikbhai, is now a part of our lives and will always be in our prayers. Thank you DATRI for finding this match and gifting our daughter back to us.”
Also present at the event were Dr. Nirav Buch, Pediatric Hematologist & Oncologist, Team DATRI, patients and their families who appealed to the public to come forward to Gift lives. It is appalling to know that only 33,118 donors are registered with DATRI as potential blood stem cell donors from Gujarat, which has a population of 68,247,188. This definitely calls for more awareness on the importance of saving lives through blood stem cell donation for blood cancer patients.
Bharath Saves Barathy!
Bharath Surya Devara, a 25-year-old medical student met Barathy P B from Tamil Nadu for the first time after donating his Blood Stem Cells to save her from Blood Cancer. Barathy, who hails from Coimbatore, is a mother of two children. Her world shattered when she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), a severe form of Blood Cancer in 2017. Dr. Bharath registered during a Donor Registration Drive conducted by DATRI at his college in Vijayawada in 2017. He became a match in February 2018 and agreed for the donation.
With intense emotions, Barathy said, “I do not have words to express my thanks to Dr. Bharat; he has gifted my kids their mother. I must thank DATRI for finding this match and gifting me back to my family.” Dr Bharath Surya Devara said, “The Gift of Life is the most treasured gift of all. Everyone must come forward to register as a volunteer Blood Stem Cell donor. The feeling of meeting the person who is alive because of you is extremely elating. Today I feel like I have a blood-sister and an extended family”.
Dr. Krishna Reddy, Medical Oncologist at Manipal Hospital, family members of the donor and the recipient were present at the occasion.
It is appalling to know that only 53,074 donors have registered with DATRI as potential blood stem cell donors from Andhra Pradesh, which has a population of nearly 5 Crores. This definitely calls for more awareness on the importance of saving lives through Blood Stem Cell Donation.
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
ACT NOW. GIFT A LIFE