India vice-captain KL Rahul donates Rs 31 lakh for budding cricketer Vasad's surgery

Star India player KL Rahul has donated Rs 31 lakh to fund the surgery of an 11-year-old budding cricketer to treat a rare blood disorder,

Indian opener KL Rahul has come to the rescue of an 11-year-old needing an urgent bone marrow transplant (BMT) to treat a rare blood disorder. Rahul donated a generous Rs 31 lakh of the Rs 35 lakh required for the procedure.

In December, Varad’s parents Sachin Nalawade, an insurance agent, and homemaker Swapna Jha started a fundraising campaign on GiveIndia to raise Rs 35 lakh they needed to pay for their son’s treatment. Rahul’s team got in touch with GiveIndia as soon as they came to know about Varad and the fundraiser.

Since September, the fifth standard schoolboy had been under the care of hematologists in Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital after he was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a rare blood disorder. Varad’s blood platelet levels were very low, making his immune system extremely susceptible to infections. Even a normal fever took months to be cured. A bone marrow transplant was the only permanent cure for Varad’s condition.

The middle-class family had run out of funds, with his father even liquidating his provident fund savings to pay for Varad’s mounting medical bills to keep his son’s dreams of becoming a cricketer alive. He also bought his son a fancy cricket bat for his 11th birthday to cheer up Varad and give the aspiring young batsman some hope.

Thanks to Rahul, Varad was operated upon, and he is now recuperating.

Speaking about the donation, Rahul said, “When I came to know about Varad’s condition, my team got in touch with GiveIndia so that we can help him in any way we could. I am glad that the surgery was successful, and he is doing well. I hope Varad gets back on his feet at the earliest and goes on to achieve his dreams. I hope my contribution inspires more and more people to come forward and help those in need.”

Sitting next to a smiling Varad, his mother Swapna, with folded hands, said: “We are thankful to KL Rahul for donating such a large amount for Varad’s surgery. But for him, it would have been impossible to carry out the bone marrow transplant in such a short period of time. Thank you, Rahul.”