Friends- I am a retired USAID Foreign Service Officer and during my last three years with USAID I was posted at the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, Bangladesh where I met the head of our IT Department, Nazrul Islam, and this GoFundMe request is for his benefit. Nazrul is 49 years old, married and proudly served the United States as a computer specialist from 2008 right up until this year when he lost his job and income along with thousands of other USAID employees worldwide. Last year we raised $21,000 through GoFundMe to assist Nazrul finance an intestine transplant to replace the one he lost almost 4 years ago due Protein-C deficiency, a rare disease that causes dangerous blood clots to form and which cut off the blood supply to his small intestine, causing it to necrotize. Since then, he has been living on intravenous feedings waiting for the opportunity to obtain a new intestine.

During mid-August of this year Nazrul was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai, India where he was being prepped for the transplant while waiting for an organ to become available. I wired the funds we raised in the past year to his hospital and he underwent an 8 hour surgery on September 17. Since then, he has been in the ICU recovering, which has been slow due to post-op complications. Unfortunately, our first GoFundMe did not reach our goal of $70,000 to pay for the transplant surgery and maintain Nazrul and his wife, Shahida, during the 6 months he will need to recover in India until he can travel back to Bangladesh. Further, the current need to remain in the ICU is now costing the family $1300 per day. As a result, I am hoping to raise $50,000 through this current appeal as the couple has no source of income and I need your help.

I realize virtually everyone has suffered financially this year from the layoffs and closure of so many U.S. government agencies so it pains me to ask for your help, but I am hoping you will open your hearts for a USAID brother in need. Any contribution, no matter how small, will help Nazrul be able to continue getting the care he needs to recover and resume a normal life. To make a donation, please go to the following site https://www.gofundme.com/f/intestine-transplant-recipient-needs-your-help and follow the instructions. Please, I implore you to share Nazrul’s story with friends and family so we may reach others who may be willing to donate. Your kindness and support mean the world to him and his family. On behalf of Nazrul I thank you for your time, generosity and support.

Warm regards,

Ken Hasson, Ph.D.

USAID Humanitarian Assistance Officer (Retired)