HYDERABAD: With 90 per cent of his lungs damaged and with no means to undergo a lung transplant in private hospitals, 48-year-old Kalluri Srinivas of Mancherial is struggling to survive. The bedridden man depends on supply of oxygen from five large cylinders each day to breath and stay alive as his family spends Rs 3,500 per day. This has been the case for the last two months.
The doctors have advised him to undergo lung transplant but unfortunately the government hospitals in Telangana do not offer the specialised surgery.
Srinivas, who used to run a small kirana shop, is a beneficiary of Aarogyasri scheme but it proved to be of no use to him despite lung transplant being one of the surgeries included in the list of organ transplantation surgery packages under the State government’s health scheme.
A well-known corporate hospital in Hyderabad that recently boasted about its capabilities to conduct lung transplant at its specialised transplantation centre, refused to offer the service to him under Aarogyasri.
Speaking to Express, Srinivas’ wife Lavanya said that for more than 15 years they lived in Ramakrishnapur of Mandamarri mandal in Mancherial district, that is home to coal mines.
In 2018, they shifted to Mancherial town following doctor’s advice as Srinivas was diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease, a chief cause of which is long-term exposure to hazardous materials, according to the American Lung Association.
‘How long can we keep buying O2 cylinders?’
“In 2018, a doctor in Hyderabad advised us that the severe lung condition was due to dust. We were advised to shift from Ramakrishnapur to avoid further damage to my husband’s lungs.
At that time his lungs were 60 per cent damaged. We were using nebuliser to provide him oxygen but two months ago his condition deteriorated. Now he is dependent on oxygen cylinders,” Lavanya said. “Somehow, we have sustained till now with financial help from family and friends. But we have no idea how long we can keep buying oxygen cylinders,” she dded.
Besides the heavy medical costs, Srinivas and Lavanya also have two school-going children to look after.