Bengaluru milestone: 1,000 children with thalassemia get stem cell transplants

A significant milestone was reached in Bengaluru on Friday as Sankalp India Foundation, in partnership with international nonprofit DKMS and medical collaborator Cure2Children Foundation, completed 1,000 stem cell transplants for children battling thalassemia.

Among those who received a second chance at life is 17-year-old Muhammad Shaheem from Karnataka. Diagnosed with severe thalassemia at just five months old, he relied on regular blood transfusions throughout his childhood. These transfusions, however, led to severe iron overload, affecting his heart and liver and making a transplant particularly risky.

A viable donor was found within his family: his seven-year-old sister, Zara, who was a full Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) match. Following extensive preparation and counselling at the Sankalp-Bhagwan Mahavir Jain Hospital in Bengaluru, the family proceeded with the transplant.

Shaheem's mother, Zareena, who herself lives with thalassemia major and continues to undergo treatment, said the decision was difficult but has ultimately given her son a better life without the constant burden of the disease.

The transplants are both risky and expensive, with treatment costs in India ranging from ₹12 lakh to ₹40 lakh. Of the 1,000 procedures completed, DKMS has supported the transplantation costs for more than 820 children. Sankalp currently provides care to over 3,000 children through 30 thalassemia day-care centres and operates paediatric bone marrow transplant centres in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

Rajat Kumar Agarwal, president of Sankalp India Foundation, said the 1,000 transplants represent 1,000 beginnings and proof that cure can be made accessible when organisations combine their strengths with a shared purpose. He highlighted how centres in resource-constrained settings can achieve internationally recognised quality while keeping transplantation affordable and accessible.