Help Soumya for his Renal Transplant

This is a fundraiser for Soumyashree Chatterjee. I, Abhijit Sengupta along with several of Soumyashree's other school friends are doing this on Soumyashree's behalf. Soumyashree has currently started regular dialysis, and the search is on for prospective donors. We will keep this page updated with his progress.

 

Soumyashree, the soft-hearted motor mouth remembered by his school friends as a walking talking encyclopedia, is suffering from chronic kidney disease (CKD) leading to End-stage Renal Failure. He needs a kidney transplant to survive and lead a healthy life.

 

Fondly called Soumya by friends, a voracious reader and an even more passionate speaker, ever ready with the perfect phrases is presently gasping for breath after speaking just a few words. Once, with an appetite to tear through everyone’s lunch boxes in school, Soumya is struggling to eat half a portion of an entrée today.

 

In 2019 he suffered from an autoimmune disease called Guillen Barre syndrome, which rendered him paralyzed waist down, progressing to his upper limbs. As he recovered, his eyesight was affected with edema formation in his retina and his condition was diagnosed as Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. He was subsequently given injections in his retina and laser surgery was performed. It has been a tough ride since then given the fact that he is diabetic and also has hypertension. But more recently, after complaining of extreme fatigue it was revealed that his kidneys are failing. In March 2021, the doctors advised him to undergo a renal transplant on account of chronic kidney disease from prolonged uncontrolled Diabetes.

Soumya dons many hats for his family. He is the only surviving child of his widowed mother. He is also the guardian for his epileptic younger niece and the solid support for his widower brother-in-law, himself a senior citizen. For them, Soumya is the wind beneath their wings, and today he faces an uncertain future on account of his disease. His complicated health situation coupled with other family responsibilities has taken a toll on him and his finances.

With his limited resources, bearing the hefty cost of £10,000 (close to 1,000,000 in Indian Rupees) for his transplant has become an insurmountable challenge for him. So, it is with humility that his friends and families turn to you and appeal to your generosity to help him.


What will the money be used for?

India does not have a reliable public health service and hence most sophisticated procedures have to be carried out in private hospitals. Soumya's health insurance has run out as a result of his continuing medical problems over the years. Hence, all funds being raised here will go towards meeting the actual costs of the procedure, pre and post care. He will require regular dialysis over the next few months till the transplant is carried out and following the surgery, will require extensive post operative care for several months. The hospital (Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences, Kolkata, India) has provided the detailed break up of just the cost of surgery (see below), amounting to INR 960,400, which amounts to approximate £10,000. Any money raised here will go towards paying this cost.



How do we plan to send the money to Soumya

GoFundMe does not currently operate in India. Based on GoFundMe's guidelines (here), I will be responsible for sending the money to Soumya. Depending on the nature of cost, the money will either be sent directly to the hospital's account:


OR directly to Soumya's bank account specifically set up for collecting funds for him to pay for the post-hospital care. Once the collections have started and the money needs to be sent, I will transfer the money directly into either one of these accounts and will be posting transfer receipts here for complete transparency. 

Official Identification
Here is Soumyashree's official ID issued by the Govt of India (Aadhar Card 3268 **** ****):



I will provide more updates as and when they arise. In the meantime, please keep Soumyashree in your thoughts and help share his story with family and friends. Soumya's family and friends will forever in your debt for any help that you can provide in this campaign. Thank you!