New Delhi, 16 May (H.S.):

Rajya Sabha member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Sanjay Singh on Saturday appealed for help for Garvit, an innocent child from Assam suffering from the rare disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Type-1, a serious condition that severely affects the spine and nervous system. He said Garvit is admitted to the Railway Hospital in Connaught Place, Delhi, and is struggling between life and death.

Speaking at a press conference held at the party office on Saturday, Sanjay Singh said Garvit needs a life-saving gene therapy injection, which costs around Rs 9 crore in India. He accused the pharmaceutical company of charging an extremely high price and called it inhuman. He said the medicine originally costs Rs 17 crore, but even after a discount, its price remains beyond the reach of an ordinary family.

He said Garvit’s father, Pradeep, is from Assam and works with the Indian Railways. Pradeep has already sold his house and land, but remains helpless before the enormous cost of the injection. The MP said Pradeep is part of the Railway family, and the entire Railway family should stand with him in this difficult time.

The MP appealed to the nearly 14 lakh railway employees to contribute just Rs 500 each, saying that the child’s life could be saved if everyone came forward. He said this is a humanitarian responsibility and that together, society can give Garvit a new life. This is not just one family’s problem, he added, but a collective responsibility of society to ensure that an innocent child does not lose his life due to a lack of money.

He said the government and pharmaceutical companies should also show sensitivity in this matter. Making a life-saving medicine available at such a high price is inhuman. If pharmaceutical companies give priority to humanity over profit, the lives of many innocent children can be saved.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar