Afghan Child Needs Bone Marrow Transplant!

Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Karim Bayanzay and I am an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco. I am also an Afghan refugee and recently a father of a sick child in my village reached out to me regarding his sick child. Today, I am reaching out to you with an urgent plea to help me save the life of a young boy in Afghanistan who suffers from a rare and deadly blood disorder.

Khalid Imran is an 11-year-old boy who lives in a remote village in Afghanistan, Lal Pura, near Jalabad. He has thalassemia, a genetic condition that prevents his body from making enough healthy red blood cells. He needs regular blood transfusions to survive, but they are hard to come by in his area. Due to multiple transfusion he is now at risk of iron overload, which can damage his liver. He also contracted hepatitis C from contaminated blood. His older brother died from complications from the same disease a few years ago.

The only hope for Khalid is a bone marrow transplant, which can potentially cure his condition and give him a chance at a normal life. I have been coordinating closely with the Cure 2 Children organization and Dr. Aliya Batool, a Consultant Hematologist at Dr. Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital in Islamabad to arrange for a bone marrow transplant. After extensive testing, we have identified his younger 9-year-old brother, Ahmed Imran as a 100% match. This is exciting news, however, bone marrow transplants are complex and expensive. The treatment requires the removal of all his immune cells, which increases his risk for infection. He also needs to take medications to prevent his body from rejecting the new bone marrow. Due to the complexity of the treatments, his family is required to relocate for 1 year to Islamabad. If you know of a place the family can stay for a year in Islamabad, please reach out to me directly.

Khalid's father is an elementary school teacher in a remote village in Afghanistan. Due to the recent political changes, his income has been slashed considerably and there is no way for him to afford such treatment. The bone marrow transplant itself costs $10,000 - $12,000 (2,800,000 to 3,000,000 PKR). However, he will require post-transplant medications and may also need money in case of complications, so we are asking for an additional $8,000. Therefore, we are raising a total of $20,000. The $12,000 will be sent directly to the Dr. Akbar Niazi Hospital and the remainder will be sent to the family to cover their travel costs, costs of living in Islamabad for 1 year, post-transplant medication and the remainder to save in case of any complications requiring further hospitalization.

Every dollar counts and will make a huge difference for Khalid and his family. Please donate whatever you can and share this fundraiser with your friends and family. Together, we can give Khalid a new lease on life.

Thank you for your generosity and compassion.