Rela
Institute and Milaap created the best humanitarian
partnership in Indian
medical history
Supported nearly 100 medical cases and raised over 5 Crores in
just 15 months
According to the
Directorate General of Health Services, out of the nearly 260,000 fatalities
caused by liver diseases, 200,000 (76%) can be attributed directly to cases of
liver failure and that on-time administration of a liver transplant could have
saved nearly 10-15 percent of these lives. In fact, liver diseases still claim
3% of the total deaths in the country.
India is considered to be the most cost efficient country
for transplants, in fact, having the lowest cost for
transplants in the world. But among some of the critical organ
transplants such as kidney, liver and heart, a liver transplant is still the
most expensive. An average treatment cost
ranges between Rs.15-30 lakh. Out of the estimated 5000+ annual requirements of
liver transplants in India, less than 150 - 200 transplants are done every
year. High costs are a major impediment to the treatment.
To address this highly under-represented ecosystem of Liver
Diseases in the country, Rela Institute and Medical Centre (RIMC) and Milaap,
South-Asia’s largest crowdfunding platform have joined hands to provide support
to thousands of patients in India and abroad who are struggling with the
financial crisis of an unprecedented
medical situation.
Chennai-based Rela Institute and Medical Centre (RIMC) is a renowned
name in the healthcare industry, not just in India but across the world. RIMC
was established with a vision to provide outstanding clinical care with
integrated highly qualified medical professionals, who are equipped with
state-of-the-art infrastructure. A pioneer in providing comprehensive,
multidisciplinary and specialised services for liver diseases in the country,
it is known as one of the most scientifically advanced hospitals in India with
a multi-disciplinary team of Surgeons, Hepatologists, Intensive care,
specialised in adult and paediatric care) under the able leadership of Prof.
Mohamed Rela, Chairman & Managing Director at RIMC, a world renowned Liver
transplant surgeon. The team has the experience of dealing with over 1500 liver
transplants in the last 10 years.
The emergence of crowdfunding as a platform has come as a
ray of hope to families crushed under the burden of the medical expenses from
the treatment. In most of the emergency or tertiary healthcare causes,
crowdfunding is not the only source of funding, and is often the last resort
after exhausting all other avenues.
Milaap, South-Asia’s largest crowdfunding platform have
helped people across all age groups and raised more than 60 Crores for Liver
transplants. Till date platform has supported over 3000 fundraisers for Liver
related ailments, of which more than half are for children.
Speaking about the collaboration, Prof Rela said, “For a patient living
with liver disease, the financial burden can be tremendous. The cost of a liver
transplant plus a lifelong commitment to immuno-suppressant is out of the reach
of a common man. Our collaboration with Milaap has made liver transplants
affordable for many. Their seamless process of raising funds and withdrawal has
set a positive impact on the families, giving them hope at the most desperate
time of their lives. Our unique initiative ensures that no family turns down
the treatment owing to the cost, and we are happy that in just more than a
year, more than 100 families have already benefited from this
crowdfunding.”
He further added, “RIMC has the
unique feature of performing both live donor (about 75%) and deceased donor
liver transplantation (about 25%), which is considered to be the only program
in India. We have the largest paediatric transplant program in India holding
the credit for performing a liver transplant in the youngest child in the
country(previous press release data to be quoted). We have performed the first
split liver transplant and first Auxiliary transplant in India, both very
innovative procedures requiring high technical expertise. These success stories
attract patients from across the world, and we are glad that we are able to
help them get a new lease on life with the best facilities and treatment
irrespective of financial constraints. Other than LT, we offer multi-speciality
care for all kinds of Neurological disorders, Cardiac Surgery and Advanced Paediatrics
with BMT (Bone & Marrow Transplant).”
Speaking at the conference, Anoj
Viswanathan, President and co-founder, Milaap, said, “When there is a cure, no matter how complicated or specialized,
everyone deserves a fair chance to get life-saving treatment, and it’s heart-warming to see
healthcare providers like RIMC going one step ahead to ensure people get the
quality treatments and care they seek for their loved ones during tough times, without an ‘affordability’ criteria. Milaap aims to connect those in need with those who can
help, and it is amazing to see how so many patients are helped by complete
strangers.”
Present at the event was Adrika Das who was diagnosed with
a rare genetic liver disorder Prothrombotic Disorder (Protein C Disorder) after
birth. Adrika suffered from necrosis on various body parts and has undergone
her treatment at Rela Institute and Medical Centre, Chennai for a liver
transplant. Her campaign on Milaap raised an astounding sum of Rs 33 lakh
overnight, which not only covered Adrika’s liver transplant but also a
follow-up surgery to remove part of her intestine.
##
About
Dr. Rela Institute & Medical Centre
Dr.
Rela Institute & Medical Centre (RIMC), an International Medical facility, is a quaternary care hospital
dedicated to fostering and responding to the needs of a diverse patient
population. The hospital provides high quality healthcare with state-of the art
infrastructure facilities and experienced, caring medical professionals.
RIMC is designed to provide
multi-speciality care with special focus on multi-organ transplantation and
critically ill patients. In addition to quaternary care in all specialties, the
hospital is committed to providing day-to- day “primary and secondary care” to
patients. RIMC has one of the world’s
largest dedicated liver intensive care units.
RIMC is a multi-super specialty hospital in a sprawling
landscape of 36 acres located in Chromepet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
●
The facility, with 450 beds
inclusive of 130 critical-care beds, 14 operating rooms and sophisticated
reference laboratories and radiology services, is conveniently located close to
road, rail and air transport.
●
RIMC is led and managed
by world-renowned doctors who are committed to healthcare.
●
RIMC offers a wide spectrum of
clinical care, education and research.
●
RIMC is driven by patient needs,
comfort and trust.
About Milaap
Milaap is South Asia’s largest crowdfunding platform for
personal needs, especially healthcare and related needs. Constantly
endeavouring to make it easier for people to raise money online for the causes
that matter to them, the platform enables lay-people to raise funds for
personal causes and emergencies, especially for tertiary healthcare like Cancer
care, organ transplants and accidents. Milaap’s community of funders come from
over 130 countries across the world and have contributed more than 750 crores
for 200,000+ projects across India. Over the last eight years, Milaap has
become a preferred platform for people to raise and contribute towards the
causes they care about in India. Milaap.org is constantly working to take
crowdfunding to the masses. The website has over 2.5 million page views every
month and is growing 3x yearly. The platform constantly adds new features based
on user feedback to ensure a hassle-free experience. The e-mail support extends
over 15 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is rendered via a dedicated team that hand-holds
users through any procedure on the website.
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