This Doctor From Odisha Is Treating Thalassemic Kids Free Of Cost

There are only a handful of people in the world with the courage to align their passion with their work. Most of us remain apprehensive about following our dreams either due financial constraints or domestic responsibilities, and in the process we forget our duties toward the society.

However, there is an individual who has dedicated his life to the well-being of those in dire need. A young doctor from Odisha, Dr. Biswashree Gyanranjan Nayak is a homeopathic physician who is treating kids and poor people suffering from thalassemia free of cost.

Speaking to The Logical Indian Dr Nayak said,

“After I started my private practice in Bhubaneswar, I witnessed the plight of children suffering from thalassemia. This triggered something in me emotionally, like a calling to my inner self. I could not contain my empathy for the parents of these kids. I started providing free medical consultation and supply of homeopathic drugs to the kids suffering from thalassemia.”

His work with the kids also motivated him co-found the trust ‘Salaam Jeevan’ to provide free health treatment to the slum dwellers of Bhubaneswar by working in the field of environmental health and offering support to the victims of tobacco.

Under the project Umeed, Dr Nayak is helping the poor kids suffering from thalassemia

The Salaam Jeevan trust is also running a project named ‘Umeed’ to support the kids suffering from Thalassemia. Currently, the project is providing free medicines to around 60 patients regularly. Every month, approximately 3-4 new patients join the project.

Since thalassemia is almost incurable, the patients need to undergo blood transfusions in regular intervals which gets increasingly hectic for the patients as well as their parents. Thus, project Umeed is a ray of hope for the poor parents of thalassemic patients. The treatment provided to the children increases the gap of blood transfusion and also aids in declining the associated complaints like irritation, bloated abdomen, anemic with pale color of body, swelling, loss of appetite, general weakness and dizziness.

“The parents of the suffering children thank me and the organization for the kind touch of humanity. I feel heavenly because, not only do treat the patients free of cost, but also contribute the cost of the medicine to the trust”, said Dr Nayak.

Recollecting the challenges faced by him, Dr Nayak revealed that the initial few days were full of confusion and obstacles. “I was unable to gather the courage to afford the cost of treatment to the patients. Additionally, connecting to the patients was also greatly difficult”, he said.

Kids diagnosed with Thalassemia have to undergo treatment for the rest of their lives

About 10% of the total world thalassemia patients belong to India, among them 3-4% are carriers.

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body does not produce the required amount of hemoglobin from the bone marrow, causing further destruction of the of immature hemoglobin cells. This results in excessive loss of red blood cells that leads to an anemic condition. Hence, thalassemic patients immediately require blood transfusion to survive. Due to excessive destruction of hemoglobin, the serum ferritin level and the spleen size also increase. Along with this, some other symptoms include weakness, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, bone and joint pain, and irritability. Inadequate
blood transfusion and improper dietary habits may cause the death of the patients suffering from this disease.

Dr Nayak realizes that it’s essential people be made aware of this deadly disease. To prevent the spread of thalassemia, he is currently organising awareness campaigns in colleges and universities so as to prevent the spread of the disease from the grassroot level.

“If youngsters understand its repercussions and get their blood checked up before marriage, the risk of thalassemia can be reduced. If both the couple are identified with minor thalassemia, there is a lot of risk to the child. Thus, our campaign stresses on pre-marriage blood check up”, he said.

To spread awareness about his work, Dr Nayak initially placed boards and posters about the free treatment in front of blood banks because this where the parents can be directly targeted. Furthermore, his trust also uses social media to highlight the services provided by them. Apart from this, old beneficiaries are linking to the new ones to avail the services.