THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was two months ago that seven-year-old Sreenandan was diagnosed with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), toppling his little world. The disease in which the red blood cells get damaged has left the family in dire straits.
With the family struggling to find a stem cell donor, a medical camp is being organised to find a matching donor for a blood stem cell transplant. It was when Sreenandan complained of pain in his limbs that the family got him tested and found out about the disease.
“PHN is rarely found in kids. The doctors have told us that the disease is normally seen in those above the age of 18 and is very rare in kids. We haven’t been able to find a matching donor, with that of his sibling and cousins turning out negative for genetic matching. We are trying hard to find a donor,” says Asha S Babu, Sreenandan’s mother.
The camp which is being organised at Hassan Marakkar Hall on Friday by DATRI Blood Stem Cell Donors Registry. All one needs to help out the seven-year-old is to walk in and donate their oral swab sample and an human leukocyte antigen (HLA) test will be carried out.