Indian doctors have added one more feather in their cap by curing a thalassemic patient. To her immense relief, seven-year-old Harshita does not need to go for monthly blood transfusion any more. This is first such case in India and fourth in the world.
Thalassemia is a genetic disease which means decreased or defective production of haemoglobin in the red blood cells which transports oxygen throughout the body. For this, the patients have to go for blood transfusion atleast once every month.
This could become possible only due to awareness of Hrishita’s grandmother Krishna Aggrawal who contacted Umbilical Cord Stem Cell Bank in Bihar when her daughter-in-law became pregnant with the second child. It became clear after tests that the child in the womb is not thalassemic and the baby’s blood group matched that of Hrishita’s, which is rare.
Dr Dharma Chowdhury, who injected stemcells in Hrishita said, “When Hrishita’s mother was to give birth to her second baby, everybody was hopeful of a new lease of life for Hrishita.”
Happy over the doctor’s efforts to save her granddaughter, Krishna said, “It does not matter to me how much money was spent, but I am happy that Hrishita can lead a normal life.”
In developed countries, this treatment could cost over two crores. but in India it cost around `15 lakhs.