At Cochin Palace Hotel, a family excitedly waits to meet the person who saved their father's life. The savior had flown all the way from Gujarat to meet the person he saved by donating his blood stem cells. Sivaramakrishnan K.V from Kerala and Pravin Kumar Patel from Gujarat are both businessmen and interestingly are blood brothers now. The two and their families met for the first time in a meeting organized by the Chennai-based DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry. The gathering was presided by Shri Sreejith (IPS), IG of Cochin Range.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160805/10151997)
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160725/10151148-a)
In January 2014, Sivaramakrishnan went for a blood test to undergo a surgery to remove an inflamed gall bladder. However, the family was left shattered when doctors declared that he was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (RAEB 2-AML), a type of blood cancer. After several preliminary investigations and reconfirmation of the disease, the doctors advised him to go for chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
Unable to find a match from the family, they approached DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry. Mr. Patel had registered as a donor way back in 2012 during one of the drives at his office by the organization. In 2014, when a call came from DATRI office informing him that he was found to be a match, he was in a dilemma. Ignorance and lack of proper information led him to worry about the side effects of donation despite strong support from his family. After proper counseling from experts and a doctor from his community, he felt a strong conviction to go ahead and donate his blood stem cells to a person he has never known or met. His act saved the life of a doting father. On 1 July, 2014, his blood stem cell was transplanted into Sivaramakrishnan.
"Once I got convinced, I grabbed the God-given opportunity to save a life. We should celebrate such opportunities just like cutting a cake on a special occasion," said Mr. Patel.
As per the registry rules, the identity of donors and recipients are kept anonymous for one year. Both the recipient and donor expressed their desire to meet each other. So, when the doctors declared Sivaramakrishnan completely cured, DATRI initiated this meeting between the two and their families.
"It was a very difficult time for our family but, the immense love and support from other family members, friends, well wishers and even strangers are beyond words to express our gratitude. The selfless effort of all in every stage of my dad's treatment and the act of the blood stem donor is immeasurable," said Vidhya, the grateful young daughter of Sivaramakrishnan.
According to the latest lists of registered donors in India, Kerala accounts for the highest with 29,404 and has facilitated 20 donations. However, this is the first-ever meet of its kind happening in the state.
"Kerala has the highest number of registered donors in the country. I really hope that we get a lot more of such donors. It is indeed a joyous moment for DATRI to witness the fruits of our dedicated team work. We hope that, people will become more aware of the importance of donating their blood stem cells and give someone another chance to live," said Raghu Rajagopal, Co-founder & CEO of DATRI.
About DATRI:
DATRI is a not-for-profit organization registered as a Section 25 company under the Government of India. Co-founded by Mr. Raghu Rajagopal, Dr. Nezih Cereb and Dr. Soo Young Yang in 2009, the vision of the organization is to find a willing matched donor for every patient suffering from fatal blood related disorders and in need of a blood stem cell transplant.
DATRI is India's largest adult unrelated blood stem cell donors registry with over 1, 39,822 voluntary donors and has facilitated 186 donations till date. DATRI works with 11 collection centers and serviced 39 transplant centers worldwide. DATRI is an associate of Bone Marrow Donors Worldwide (BMWD) and a member of World Marrow Donors Association (WMDA).
For more information, visit: http://datri.org/
Media Contact:
Aviini Ashikho
[email protected]
+91-7598145413
Public Relations Coordinator
DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry
