VELLORE: Will her third visit to Christian Medical College Hospital here save the life of Alka Tiwari, the 21-year-old girl from Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh, who is suffering from paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a rare life-threatening disease of the blood, which requires a bone marrow transplant costing up to `25 lakh?Youngest daughter of a poor farmer, who passed away before she was diagnosed with the disease, Alka had visited CMC way back in 2006 and again a few months ago. But since her brother Brajesh Tiwari, a Chemistry graduate who works as a lab technician for a measly salary of around `2,500 a month, could not afford the treatment that also required a prolonged stay in hospital, the family went back home. In fact, the family has already spent about `17 lakh. Now, for the girl, who has been falling ill since was 12, her mother Suraj Mukhi has been identified to serve as peripheral blood stem cell donor. Alka’s story came to light when she wrote to the government seeking permission for euthanasia in October last. The Union health ministry intervened and admitted her to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Lucknow, from where she was shifted to AIIMS in New Delhi. They have now come back as AIIMS gave up on the case and referred her to CMC.The family took a train to Vellore with just `38,000. But they had to spend a portion of it enroute as Alka took ill in Madhya Pradesh. “I have come to Vellore with hope. Even if the treatment fails, my family members’ prayers would save me,” the girl who completed her BA, despite being sick, told Express. Brajesh said the health ministry had told them that the funding for the treatment could be given only if the treatment is taken in a government hospital. “But the AIIMS itself has referred the case to a private hospital, CMC. I now have to explain this to the government and get approval for the funding. Even this would take a long time, but the situation of my sister is worse now,” he said.The hospital says that the transplant alone would cost `12 lakh and the total expenses may go to `25 lakh. Even after the approval, the ministry would fund only for the transplant, but the post-operation treatment and medication would cost more because she has to be admitted in hospital for six months after the transplant, he said and added that he had tried in vain to mobilise money for Alka’s treatment through many avenues like writing to cricketers, actors, businessmen and NGOs. Brajesh claimed that the cost of living in Vellore was high. He is struggling to pay for the accommodation, food and water.Alka has just met Prof Biju George of the Department of Haematology for a preliminary examination. The treatment is yet to start. Those interested in supporting her can send their contribution either by demand draft or cheque in favour of ‘The Treasurer’, Christian Medical College, Vellore. Her hospital ID is 957518D.
Comments
0 comment