945 from India join global campaign to save NRG boy

Surat: A global campaign has been launched to save the life of a four-year-old Gujarati boy living in the UK who suffers from a rare genetic disorder that has resulted in a drastic reduction of all blood cells and impaired bone marrow function.
Veer Gudhka, whose parents hail from Jamnagar, suffers from Fanconi anaemia and the campaign has been launched to find a matching stem cell donor, which will enable his bone marrow transplant.
“As many as 945 people from India, mostly Gujaratis, have registered as stem cell donors in this campaign. Doctors say Veer’s stem cell did not match with nearly 3.3 crore samples received as part of this campaign,” said Jalpa Sukhanandi, region head, DATRI, India’s largest unrelated blood stem cell donors’ registry.
On July 19, Veer’s father Nirav and mother Kripa addressed Gujarati community in the state and Mumbai appealing for people to come forward and register as stem cell donors. “Matching stem cell donors is now very urgent. We are asking you to help us save our four-year-old son by registering as a stem cell donor,’‘ Kripa said addressing the community.
Veer’s parents and family members, who belong to the Jain community, have been running the online campaign (helpveernow) through social media.
Veer’s red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets have dropped to dangerously low levels, which means that he needs a bone marrow transplant at the earliest.
“Since ethnicity plays a large role in the probability of finding a match, chances of finding a matching donor within his own community are high,” added Sukhanandi.
For Veer’s survival, he needs a generous stem cell donor from anywhere in the world. Anyone could be the one to save his life. He needs to find a lifesaving stem cell donor if he is to survive.
“When he was first diagnosed a few months ago, we thought he would not need a transplant but now that looks like the sole life saviour.
We are extremely worried as time is running out for him,’‘ Veer’s father Nirav appealed in a video.