Sibling Bonding in 2025: Honoring the Relationship, Priceless Gift - Redeeming Life Opportunity
In India, over 10,000 new children are born annually with thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder that leads to severe anaemia. These children often require lifelong blood transfusions, and without proper treatment, many do not survive beyond the age of 20. One such child is Ayan Khan, who was diagnosed with Thalassemia Major and required regular blood transfusions. His father, a construction labourer with limited finances, was searching for a permanent cure.
However, blood stem cell transplantation offers the only curative option for thalassemia, but access remains limited due to financial and logistical barriers. The financial burden is especially heavy as optimal lifelong management costs around ₹100,000–₹120,000 annually, making treatment unaffordable for most families.
Enter the DKMS Foundation India, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer and other blood disorders like thalassemia and aplastic anemia. The foundation addresses these barriers through its Access to Transplantation Program, which supports families facing medical, financial, and infrastructural challenges by enabling access to life-saving stem cell transplants.
Two years after the transplant, Ayan is reported as completely disease-free and no longer dependent on blood transfusions. His sister Al Shifa, who is in seventh standard, watches with pride as her brother thrives. Ayan's story is just one of many successes made possible by DKMS Foundation India.
Another inspiring story comes from Papali Gaan, who received her life-saving transplant on August 15, 2023, after her brother Om Prakash donated his blood stem cells. Post her transplant, Papali is living her second chance at life without needing a blood transfusion. Heavily moved by his daughter's transformation, Papali's father now supports other families dealing with Thalassemia.
The DKMS Foundation India has programs such as the DKMS Patient Funding Program India and the DKMS Thalassemia Program India to support patients who face medical, financial, and infrastructural impediments. Their initiatives highlight real success stories, such as siblings donating stem cells to save affected children, thereby illustrating the impact of donor matching within families.
In addition to financial support, DKMS Foundation India also focuses on donor identification, including siblings, and education to expand accessibility to curative stem cell transplantation. They promote sibling donation and use haploidentical transplants, which have been mastered at a lower cost compared to Western countries, with comparable success rates. This innovation significantly expands transplantation eligibility beyond the limited fully matched donor pool.
Indian research has also advanced in early infection detection post-transplantation and tailored nutritional plans to improve transplant outcomes. These advancements, coupled with the efforts of organisations like DKMS Foundation India, offer hope for children like Ayan and Papali, who can now look forward to a future free from the burden of thalassemia.
| Challenges | Solutions by DKMS and India | |----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | High out-of-pocket cost for HSCT and lifelong care | DKMS Patient Funding Program to alleviate financial barriers | | Low awareness about HSCT as a permanent cure | Awareness programs by DKMS Foundation India | | Limited matched sibling donors (25-30%) | Promotion of sibling donation and use of haploidentical transplants | | Healthcare infrastructure and early infection risks| Research on cost-effective infection detection and supportive care protocols |
Thus, DKMS Foundation India's programs focus on financial support, donor identification including siblings, and education to expand accessibility to curative stem cell transplantation for children with thalassemia in India.
