Crowdfunding is popular as a different kind of trend around the world. In the west, most donors look for wacky ideas, innovative projects and the occasional injured pet or stray. In the east, nonprofit and community development projects are usually the most funded.
Recently, however, the number of healthcare campaigns have shot up across platforms. This is true not only for India, but for countries with dismal healthcare costs, like the United States, as well. Medical crowdfunding quickly caught on as a trend when patients and their families realized that crowdfunding paved the way for one of the most effective funding solutions for their expensive surgeries and medication.
Today, over half of the money raised on crowdfunding India websites like Impact Guru is for medical causes. The most popular fundraisers are run by patients who need treatment for a chronic disease like cancer or for organ transplant procedures. India’s lakhs of underprivileged patients, who can barely put three meals on their table, have begun to trust the fairly new concept and thousands have successfully raised enough money for their procedures in the past year alone.
How a patient with kidney failure is empowering himself through crowdfunding
Dharmendra is one such patient, who has turned to Impact Guru’s top medical crowdfunding platform to afford his kidney transplant procedure. His monthly income of Rs 20,000 makes it impossible to be able to pay for his medical needs.
A transplant procedures costs anything between Rs 15 to 25 lakh in a quality healthcare facility in India. There are plenty of other costs to consider as well. Medication, chemotherapy or in this case, dialysis that precedes the transplant, the doctor’s consultation charges. This large sum is unimaginable for most families that may not earn half as much during the span of their entire lives, let alone be able to spare it for a single person’s medical needs.
When Dharmendra began experiencing the symptoms of kidney failure, he was admitted to a hospital in his hometown, Gwalior. He was immediately put on the list for organ donors. Currently, he undergoes regular cycles of dialysis and takes medication to prepare his body for the inevitable transplant procedure.
Waiting on a donor list means endless hoping and praying for a single moment of arbitrary luck that can determine your chance at survival. Most hospitals require a deposit of Rs 5-10 lakh the moment a donor is found. Countless patients that struggle to raise funds while they undergo treatment lose donors frequently due to this demand. Dharmendra hopes to raise enough funds to be able to pay the deposit promptly when his donor is found.
Support Dharmendra and hundreds of campaigners like him, struggling to afford their paths to healthy, happy lives or begin fundraising today for a sick loved one!
