The mortal fear that all cancers are fatal, that there is no effective treatment for cancer, needed to be countered by public awareness.
Photo: Justdial
“Donate a Life Project”, a unique initiative being implemented free of cost at the Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital(BMCH) here, has so far saved the lives of 176 children suffering from blood cancer and dispelled the fear that all cancers are incurable.
The mortal fear that all cancers are fatal, that there is no effective treatment for cancer, needed to be countered by public awareness. “For this, a donate a life fund was floated and implemented successfully, saving the lives of 176 children from three types of deadly blood cancers”, Dr SG Kabra, Director Clinical and Welfare Projects at the BMCH, Jaipur, said.
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Dr Kaba said, “With a forbidding average cost of Rs 5 lakhs for treatment of childhood blood cancers, it was essential to mobilize social support to provide them free treatment of these eminently treatable cancers”.
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Hence, Donate A Life Fund (DALF) was initiated in 2014 at the Hospital for ensuring that no child loses their life to a cancer that can be cured, simply because their family cannot afford treatment.
DALF provides free treatment for three childhood blood cancers that have very high cure rates with proper therapy. These are 1. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL); 2 Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APML); 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HD).
“The average cost of treatment, Rs 5 lakh per child, seemed to be an unaffordable sum for many families. To deny a child treatment for lack of money was not just tragic; it reflects a failure of society, and this inspired the founding of DALF,” he said.
As many as 272 children were enrolled till June 2025, 168 children successfully cured and now living healthy, normal lives; 8 children were still under treatment, with encouraging progress in treatment.
17 of 272 patients died during treatment, and 79 were discharged for various causes.
The IndusInd Bank provided CSR support of Rs 5.25 crore over 5 years, matched by contributions from individual donors.
“Allowing a child to die of a curable cancer because of poverty is unacceptable; Together, we should ensure that no child with a curable cancer is left behind,” he concluded.
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