SRINAGAR: Two Mumbai teenagers, Arav Hak and Rajveer Mehta, have started a crowdfunding initiative to raise money to provide Plateletpheresis kits for Paediatric cancer patients admitted in Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS).
The teenage duo who are 11th standard students of American School of Bombay have so far raised over Rs 2 lakh with their initial target being Rs 2.7 lakhs.
Plateletpheresis is the process of collecting platelets from the blood of a donor and it is important in cancer treatment, specifically Leukaemia.
Operating under the aegis of Nargis Dutt Foundation, the teenagers have aimed to provide 36 Plateletpheresis kits initially. The cost of one kit is Rs 7500.
The donors are provided receipts along with granting them 80-G certificate which helps the donor to seek rebate in the annual income tax.
They said that around 230-250 paediatric cancer patients come to SKIMS annually, with many being from families living below the poverty line.
“We want to help those who cannot afford to keep themselves healthy, and buying this Plateletpheresis kits is a way to do so,” they said.
“The age group of paediatric patients is between seven to 15 years. Since SKIMS treats a lot of haematological malignancy they require blood product support in the form of single donor platelets. The sets for doing this collection is too expensive. Sometimes lives are lost due to lack of platelets,” they said, adding that SKIMS receives 3-4 “destitute” patients every month who cannot afford this kit.
