KOCHI: Kiran hailing from Hyderabad could not control his emotions when he saw for the first time Shabas T S, who saved the life of his 10-year-old daughter Manasvi through stem cell donation. The child was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major - a blood-related disease - when she was just five months old. She needed regular blood transfusions till she could find a donor.The first-time meeting of the donor, Shabas T S hailing from Kochi, with the recipient was organised by DATRI - a registry of unrelated blood stem cell donors.
The 23-year-old electrical engineering student of KMEA Engineering College registered with organisation during an awareness session conducted at his college in 2015. Within a year of registering, he received a call from the NGO informing he was a perfect match for a child with a serious blood disorder. Strongly supported by his family, Shabas was happy to donate his blood stem cells to save a young life.
“I was very happy to hear I was a potential match for someone. I felt I was the chosen one. I had no questions and I happily went ahead with the support of my parents. Meeting Manasvi who is now leading a healthy life is one of the most joyful moments,” said Shabas. His parents and sister were also present at the function. “I do not have words to express my feelings,” Kiran said. “We have waited for so long to meet the person whose selfless act gifted our daughter with a lease of life. “Today, we are totally overwhelmed to meet such a young guy who is now a part of our lives and will always be in our prayers.”
As per the registry protocol, the identity of donors and recipients have to be kept anonymous for one year. Both the recipient and the donor expressed their desire to meet each other. So, when the doctors declared Manasvi was completely cured, DATRI facilitated the meeting between the two and their families.
Blood stem cell donation becomes crucial as the probability of finding a matching donor is one in 10,000 to 1 in 2 Million. If a match is found, that donor is probably the only person who can save the patient.
Actor-writer Ranji Panicker also offered felicitations to Manasvi.