MADURAI: Diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, a one-year-old infant living at the Sri Lankan Rehabilitation Camp in Anaiyur still awaits bone marrow transplantation at a private hospital in the city despite being granted an insurance coverage of Rs 17 lakh under the CM’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) for the procedure that costs Rs 20 lakh. The family struggles to arrange the remaining Rs 3 lakh for their child.
Speaking to TNIE, the 37-year-old mother Kavitha Nishanthan, who has been living at the camp for nearly three decades, said the infant Chrisana is the youngest of her four children. “She was diagnosed with pure red cell aplasia (PRCA), a rare blood production disorder that causes anaemia when the newborn is four months old. Born in October last year, Chrisana, who was also diagnosed with cleft palate, has undergone 22 blood transfusions so far, requiring one in every two weeks,” the mother explained.
Cleft palate correction surgery can be performed only after the blood production disorder is first treated through a bone marrow transplantation, said a paediatrician at the hospital, adding that Chrisana’s elder sibling, her three-year-old brother, has been found to be a perfect match for the stem cell donation. Both surgeries must be done in the early years of infancy, said the doctor.
Kavitha added, “I was told that in South TN, bone marrow transplants are done only at this private hospital in Madurai. If not at this hospital, I was told the procedure is done at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.” The child’s parents have been trying to get the money through an crowdfunding portal and philanthropists. So far, Rs 15,000 has been received.
Sources close to the family said the procedure, which has to be performed in two weeks, was stalled by the hospital despite being granted approval by the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project (TNHSP) for insurance coverage of Rs 17 lakhs.
Hospital sources said, “On an average, about 2-3 bone marrow transplants are performed at the hospital every month and the TNHSP wing of the State health department covers 90 per cent of the treatment costs through CMCHIS. But, fresh transplants have been stalled due to the non-settlement of two crore by the TNHSP. ”Principal Secretary to the Department of Medical and Family Welfare Dr J Radhakrishnan said the hospital would be instructed to expedite the surgery.
Meanwhile, the Project Director of TNHSP Dr S Uma told TNIE, the technical committee of TNHSP granted approval for Chrisana’s bone marrow transplantation on September 8. “A corpus fund of Rs 1.16 crore for bone marrow transplants of 11 patients since May was approved on November 10. The amount will be credited in the hospital’s bank account by 11 am on Wednesday (today),” the bureaucrat added.