Father Went To The Kerala High Court To Seek Assistance For His Baby's Treatment
Update: 2022-02-23 17:21 IST
Father Went To The Kerala High Court To Seek Assistance For His Baby's Treatment
The Kerala High Court has urged the state government to respond to a petition seeking medical aid for a five-month-old newborn with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), for whom the treatment costs roughly Rs 18 crore. On February 28, Justice N Nagaresh directed the government pleader, who was representing the state, to take instructions and listed the petition, which was filed on behalf of the baby by her father.
The father claims in the appeal, filed through counsel Manas P Hameed, that the only way to preserve his baby girl's life is to inject the medicine 'Onasemnogene Abeparvovec (Zolgensma),' which requires around Rs 18 crore and must be imported from the United States. The state was duty obligated to procure the lifesaving drug and deliver it to the baby because neither the father nor his relatives could pay it.
As per the petition, a committee chaired by Kalliasseri MLA M Vijin raised roughly Rs 46 million through crowdsourcing for the treatment of a child suffering from SMA. The committee was founded to gather funds for Mohammed, who was 1.5 years old at the time and needed Zolgensma. This occurred in July 2021, and the total amount raised greatly above the intended target of Rs 18 crore.
According to reports, the committee indicated at the time that the extra money would be used to help other children who needed the medicine, as directed by the state government. A second committee, led by Perinthalmanna MLA Manjalam Kuzhi Ali, raised roughly Rs 16.5 crore for the children's treatment.
The petition requests that the state government use the remaining monies from these funds to purchase the medicine for the petitioner's infant daughter. While SMA damages the central nervous system and produces movement-related muscle atrophy.