Thalassemia and Aplastic Anaemia Bal Sewa Yojna: 20 underprivileged kids get new lease of life but no awareness on scheme
However, the lack of awareness about the scheme is the biggest roadblock in its implementation that can save more lives of unprivileged children at the hospital which is the only empanelled centre under the scheme in the western region.
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When asked about the low footfall of patients, Dr Santosh Shetty, chief executive officer of the hospital outlined the lack of awareness among the public. “We have started the scheme just a year back and there is a need for more awareness among the needy parents. We are trying to sensitise people by holding camps and through social workers,” he said.
A TOTAL of 20 underprivileged thalassemic children got a new lease of life with life-saving bone-marrow transplants done at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Hospital free of cost under the Centre’s pan-India programme— Thalassemia and Aplastic Anaemia Bal Sewa Yojna.
However, the lack of awareness about the scheme is the biggest roadblock in its implementation that can save more lives of unprivileged children at the hospital which is the only empanelled centre under the scheme in the western region.
In January 2020, Amol Jadhav, a resident of Kolhapur welcomed their twin sons but after three months one of the twins, Aarush Jadhav, was diagnosed with life-threatening thalassemia—a blood disorder which means she is unable to make her own red blood cells. After every 21 days, Amol would travel with the infant for 80 km from their remotest village — Inchanal from Gadhinglaj taluka to Kolhapur city for the essential food transfusions.
“Doctors said he required a bone marrow transplant. But it costs around Rs10-12 lakh which we couldn’t afford,” said Amol who works as an electrician. “We didn’t even know about the scheme before a social worker told us and then Aarush underwent his bone-marrow transplant in June 2022. He looks healthy and hopefully, he will start going to school soon,” he said.
In another case, Reyansh Tiwari from Nalasopara was only seven months old when he was diagnosed with Thalassemia and he has received the treatment after a wait of five years.
Like these children, a total of 20 children from the western region including Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat have benefited from the scheme.
However, the initiative does not have many takers despite the scarcity of pro bono bone marrow transplant centres, due to lack of knowledge and sensitisation. As per the state’s data, the health department has issued nearly 11,000 health cards to Thalassemia patients. The response of patients with aplastic anemia— a condition that occurs when the body stops producing enough new blood cells, the scheme is more disappointing. Though the state doesn’t have any data on aplastic anemia patients, an estimated, nearly 9,400 people are diagnosed with aplastic anemia annually in India. Despite this, not a single patient with aplastic anemia has benefitted from the programme.
When asked about the low footfall of patients, Dr Santosh Shetty, chief executive officer of the hospital outlined the lack of awareness among the public. “We have started the scheme just a year back and there is a need for more awareness among the needy parents. We are trying to sensitise people by holding camps and through social workers,” he said.
To undergo the surgery, a Thalassemia patient needs to be below the age of 12 years and belong from a family with annual income below Rs 5 lakh.
In 2017, under CIL’s CSR the Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojna was started. Later, in 2020, aplastic anemia was also added.
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