Committed to Giving Back

Shagun Dutta saw her brother suffer with thalassemia from the time she was born. He was six years her elder and had regular visits to the hospital for blood transfusions and related treatments. Due to irregular income, her family always felt the strain of financial limitations. This led her to pursue scholarships during her school education, which she was able to earn based on an excellent academic history. "I was a bright student throughout my school life. I saw my brother suffering, so I wanted to become a doctor and help him in some way. In school I was always one of the rank holders, and even in college I have consistently been a gold medalist. Fortunately, I have done well so far," she said. NAV has supported Shagun through monthly stipends for studies and extra allowances for fees and books. "This funding has had a very positive impact on my studies and college and I am very grateful," Shagun said.

Regular blood transfusions and costly medicines have been draining the monthly finances of Kapil Ramkuram Kelani’s family since he was six months old. His father works at a construction site and Kapil works as a freelance accountant. Frequent blood transfusions led to severe hormonal and mineral imbalances, which put Kapil into a critical situation. Increased iron levels had become difficult to manage without structured medicines and injections. "All my organs had started to become damaged due to high iron levels. In order to control the levels, I had to get regular testing and medicines. I was very high risk before I started receiving the support from NAV as every treatment beyond transfusion was unaffordable for me," Kapil said. His levels are now well maintained and he is out of danger. This has had a positive effect on his mindset and he now hopes to get a better job and support his family as his health improves. "Everything will be possible for me now, even with thalassemia," Kapil said.