November 2026 | Vol 15 | Issue 11

Tears rolled down Soumya’s cheeks. She stopped speaking. “Every needle prick of hers feels like a knife striking my heart.”

She was talking about her daughter, Aganya and tells why so much of these children’s early lives had to hurt. There should have been play and discovery. Instead, there were transfusions to return for. At another hospital, the family had seen a young woman with thalassemia die at 25. That loss stayed with them. They wanted Aganya to grow into a woman with dreams and choices of her own.

So much is weighed in an arranged marriage- work, families, circumstances. Nagashree, 28, from Koratagere, had something else to share: thalassemia, and blood transfusions twice a month. Her family explained everything, the treatment, hospital visits and continuing care. “They knew everything and still agreed,” she recalls. After over 100 transfusions, Nagashree recalls being told Bone Marrow Transplant was no longer an option for her. Blood transfusions remain her lifeline.

On the next page of this Patrika, you’ll meet Nagashree, who needs transfusions twice a month. Her husband stays beside her; a donor she may never meet makes her care possible. Each donation helps her return to the life she shares with him.

Hers is one of thousands of lives sustained by blood donors, each with loved ones and plans for tomorrow.

In Junagadh and Jaisalmer, parents whose children had undergone BMT supported this month’s outreach. Two transplanted children joined the Junagadh gathering—bringing the possibility families were exploring into the room.

Sankalp, in association with DKMS Germany during October’s post-HLA OPDs reached 19 families in Junagadh and 9 in Veraval. HLA camps reached 17 families from remote and border areas around Jaisalmer, and 8 in Ahmedabad.

Daan Utsav, India’s festival of giving, asks a simple question: what can we share that could mean the world to someone else?

Through Microsoft’s annual blood donation camps in Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Noida and Gurgaon, that giving reaches patients who depend on it. By 31 October 2026, 63 camps had collected 3,505 units of blood, benefiting over 10,000 patients, most of them children with thalassaemia. Four more camps are scheduled for November.

What does living with thalassemia look like beyond a medical report? The Thermo Fisher Scientific team got a glimpse during their CSR visit to Sankalp.

From a tour of our Blood Centre to conversations with children receiving transfusions at our daycare centre, the visit offered a closer look at the lives behind the diagnosis. The team also joined the children for games and activities, sharing an afternoon beyond the routines of treatment.

Could screening help a family sooner? Could closer follow-up improve someone’s treatment? These are questions we carry from our everyday work into conversations with fellow professionals.

Rajat Kumar Agarwal, President of Sankalp India Foundation, received the “Guardian of Humanity” recognition at the Navdashakotsav Global Summit 2026, organised by Brahma Kumaris at Abu Road, Rajasthan.

“Your visionary leadership towards advancing stem cell transplants, transforming lives and bringing hope to thousands of families is worthy of acclaim and recognition,” they said.

Recognition from fellow professionals encourages us to keep improving the care families count on.

A year after Happiness Amanda’s bone marrow transplant, her family sent us a celebration from Kenya, Amanda sharing a cake with her Bone marrow donor.

On the cake, her mother chose Aksha, meaning blessing, and Cushy referring to happiness. Beside it stood her two girls: one who had received a second chance at life, and one who had helped make it possible.

For a parent whose child needs regular blood transfusions, learning that a transplant could offer a cure brings hope. But another question soon follows: can we reach that care, and can we afford it? A collaborative study involving Sankalp, Cure2Children Foundation and partner centres explores how more families could have that opportunity.