A 17-year-old student who has suffered from kidney disease for over a decade has formed a platform that will raise funds for other children with kidney diseases whose families may not be able to bear the cost of the treatment.
Amey Agarwal’s efforts have helped collect Rs 8 lakh, which went into partially funding the kidney transplant of a 14-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl last year.
Amey, a Class XI student at St Xavier’s Collegiate School, was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome, a condition where the body passes too much protein into the urine, when he was only 2 years old. “I was diagnosed with the disease when I was 2. I managed to come out of it when I was 12. Since then there has been no relapse,” Amey said during a meeting on Friday to raise awareness about the platform.
He said there were phases when he could not walk or walked with great difficulty because of swollen feet.
The funds generated will be credited directly to an account of the Institute of Child Health (ICH) in Park Circus, the hospital where Amey was treated, said his father Shashank Agarwal.
The student’s parents are aiding him in this mission. “There are always children under treatment at ICH who are from poor families. The money we are able to generate will benefit someone or the other,” he said.
The treatment requires long phases of medication, which is often costly. Some children may also require renal transplant.
Rajiv Sinha, a paediatric nephrologist at ICH who was one of the doctors who treated Amey, said nephrotic syndrome was among the most common kidney ailments in children. Chronic kidney disease or urinary tract infection are two other common kidney ailments in children, he said.
Doctors said parents should beware if they see their wards have swollen eyes or swollen limbs. These could be symptoms of nephrotic syndrome. They should consult doctors immediately.
Apurba Ghosh, a paediatrician and director of ICH, said some of the children who are diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome do not respond to initial treatment and develop complications. “They may require very costly medication for some time. Those who are in worse condition may require kidney transplant,” said he said.
Donors willing to contribute can reach Amey on Nephrohelp’s website or Instagram account.