IMPACT
Crowdfunding for organ transplant From confusion to clarity
Anoj Viswanathan President and Co-Founder, Milaap
Twenty-five-year-old Sindhu had been diagnosed with drug-induced liver damage and the only remedy was to get a liver transplant. The surgery would have cost the family over Rs 40 lakh. “My family was struggling to put together funds for my sister's treatment, till help came from all quarters from total strangers,” says Sindhu’s sister Priyanka. 3000+ strangers contributed to Sindhu’s campaigns and a whooping Rs 36 lakh was raised in three days. Thanks to them, today Sindhu and her sister Priyanka who donated 60% of her liver, risking her life, are now doing well. Hubail Abrar, a one-year-old from Ernakulam, hardly had 48 hours for the transplant. A fundraiser on crowdfunding platform raised 14 lakhs overnight and the doctors could go ahead with the treatment at the right time. Even amid the Covid crisis, crowdfunding platforms have witnessed an unprecedented wave of generosity from people. Stalin, father of seven-year-old Betina said, “For me, 19 lakhs in three days was a huge sum to afford. I tried borrowing from family and friends but did not managed to collect even half the sum. I even reached out to my friends and colleagues but wasn’t able to gather the required sum.” He further added, “I am thankful to the hospital management and doctors who recommended me to start a fundraiser on a crowdfunding platform. I was able to raise funds within a few minutes and it took us barely a couple of days to raise Rs 17 lakhs for my daughter’s treatment. My daughter has undergone the liver
42
March 2021
transplant operation and is doing very well. I am grateful to all donors who helped me save the life of my child.” Medical emergencies can knock at your door anytime and sometimes even savings of a lifetime is not enough. Such uncertainties can befall anyone and without help in sight, lives can be lost or families can be ruined. The emergence of crowdfunding as a platform to raise funds for emergency or tertiary healthcare has come as a ray of hope to many such families crushed under the burden of hospital bills. In most cases, crowdfunding is not the only source of funding and is often the last resort after exhausting all other avenues. Despite transplants costs in India being the lowest in the world, it is still well beyond the reach of Indian middle-class families. Among transplants of critical organs such as kidney, liver and heart, a liver transplant is the most expensive, with costs ranging between Rs.15-30 lakh. The government’s national health mission programme, Ayushman Bharat, which aims at providing Rs 5 lakh medical insurance to 10 crore Indians, covers chemotherapy and radiation costs for cancer patients but does not cover organ transplant. The Tamil Nadu government provides funds for liver and bone marrow transplants, but there is no chance for it to reach everyone, as there are eligibility norms. Most families do not have insurance coverage and those who do may find their covers insufficient to take care of the entire cost of the transplant and beyond. Milaap was started 10 years ago, and
