In a gesture that will bring a smile to even the cynic’s face, students of Delhi Public School (South) in Bengaluru helped raise Rs 26 lakh in 45 days for patients suffering from thalassaemia. According to a report by Bangalore Mirror, the initiative is India’s biggest student crowd-funded campaign.
According to the report, the initiative started when DPS South Principal Manju Sharma said the school decided to sensitise the students and motivate them to become change-makers. While talking to them about the disease, several students admitted that they knew someone suffering from the disorder.
Students from Grades 8, 9 and 11 came up with the idea to raise funds through crowd funding. In the first six days, they managed to raise Rs 13 lakh. “The campaign supports giving free blood transfusions to those suffering from thalassaemia. The cost of each transfusion is Rs 2,000 and each student at DPS raised Rs 20,000 which will help 10 individuals by funding their transfusion costs,” the report added.
This initiative is in partnership with Bangalore Medical Services Trust (BMST) established by the Rotary Club of Bangalore and TTK Group of Companies. BMST has been providing blood banking services to patients and hospitals all over Karnataka. The day-care transfusion facility that caters to thalassaemia patients has been in operation since 1991 and the control and prevention program was started in the year 2010.
Thalassemia is a blood disorder where the body produces less than the Thalassaemia optimal amount of haemoglobin, which provides oxygen to the rest of the body. As a result, the disorder requires lifelong blood transfusions.
Diagnosis of thalassaemia can be made as early as 10-11 weeks in pregnancy using procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villi sampling. Individuals can also be tested for thalassaemia through routine blood counts. Thalassaemic patients may have reduced fertility or even infertility. Early treatment of thalassaemia has proved to be very effective in improving the quality of life of patients. Currently, genetic testing and counselling, and prenatal diagnosis play an increasingly important role in informing individual as well as professional decisions around the prevention, management and treatment of this disease.
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