Kendrapara: He has saved the lives of around 100 people by voluntarily donating blood 114 times and has never taken a rupee for it.
But fate played a cruel joke on him. The blood donor is now suffering from a spinal cord disease. Poverty prevents him from getting proper treatment and purchasing medicines.
The poor Kumar Mallick Annada Prasad, 52, of Kadalibana village in Pattamundai block of Kendrapara district makes a living by working as a labourer.
Mallick was suffering from piles about a year back and as a result lost lots of blood. Circumstances forced him to undergo surgery at a Khurda clinic. After the surgery, the haemoglobin level of Mallick dropped drastically and he fell sick as his legs and hand became stiff due to anaemia. Although he recovered he has been suffering from a spinal cord problem.
As the breadwinner of his family and as he is unable to work Mallick is now worried. How can I get treated at SCB Medical College and Hospital as I do not have money? asks Mallick.
“I have been undergoing treatment at the Regional Spinal Injury Centre for persons with disabilities at the SCB Medical College in Cuttack. Although I have a health card I do not have money to go to Cuttack. I have stopped taking medicines from July 25,”said Mallick.
“I approached our MLA several times, but in vain. The local administration has also turned its back on me. Former Collector Dasarathi Satapathy had given Rs 10,000 for my treatment when I was suffering from anaemia,” said Mallick.
He used to donate blood once every three months for last three decades. Mallick started donating blood in 1987 when he met a helpless mother who was crying and requesting people to donate blood for her sick daughter admitted at the Kendrapara DHH, said Mallick, the father of four adult children.
He has a dream to donate blood to a needy person one more time, but it does not seem that he can fulfil his dream.
Collector Samarth Verma said that he would take steps to help Mallick. He has asked Mallick to meet him Tuesday at the Collectorate with all medical reports.
PNN
