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Dinesh's mother could not believe what she just heard from the nurses looking after her son. The doctors confirmed it: Dinesh will receive around Rs 1 lakh in donation through a new AIIMS programme called 'Adopt a Patient' - a scheme launched by the institute early last month.
Dinesh, 18, broke his spine in a bike accident two months ago. The son of a farmer from Uttar Pradesh, he is now paralysed from neck to feet and does not show any sign of recovery. He now needs constant support from a Phenric nerve Stimulator or ventilator support.
There are many like him admitted in the AIIMS Trauma Centre. Mubina, a 42-year-old mother of seven from Haryana, also suffers from cervical spinal cord injury. Her husband, a daily wage labourer, cannot afford her treatment and has been finding it hard to pay for his wife's daily expenses.
In all, around 10,000 patients flock the city's largest hospital daily. Overall, the institute admits a maximum of 2 lakh patients each year.
Dr Deepak Agrawal, a neurosurgeon at AIIMS, told Catch that of the 2 lakh patients admitted every year, around 30%-40% are so poor that they simply cannot pay for any equipment for their loved one's daily medical needs.
But under the new scheme, donors will be able to visit the AIIMS website to directly select which patient they wish to donate to so that they may get medical treatment.
This article was originally published on Catch News. Read the original article.