Kerala: He fought the odds and saved his daughter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Byju S is a happy man when he watches his eight-year-old daughter Abina smile and play with her elder sister Adna. The

Neyyattinkara

man’s efforts to save his daughter, who required a liver transplant, succeeded despite

lockdown restrictions

amid the pandemic. On Father’s Day, Abina’s smile is a precious gift for Byju who was the donor. Byju is a painter by profession and his wife Liji VL, a homemaker.


Abina’s life changed during lockdown in March when she contracted fever . She was taken to a hospital when her condition worsened; her stomach also started bloating. As the family moved in and out of hospitals for a few more weeks, the number of Covid cases too increased. Then, doctors asked him to take her to Kochi.

The family applied for financial assistance from

social security

mission. “Doctors told us that she needed

immediate surgery

and the cost was nearly Rs 20 lakh. Luckily, I was a matching donor, but the cost of surgery was beyond my reach. With no job for two months our family was struggling. The paperwork to get funds from social security mission would take some more time. Then, hospital staff told me about Milaap, a crowd-funding platform. The funds arranged by them were directly transferred to the hospital,” he said.

The surgery on April 27 was a success.

Abina was diagnosed with Wilson’s disease before her surgery. The crowd-sourcing drive saw the participation of over 600 people who donated around Rs 11 lakh. The social security mission provided Rs 10 lakh for the surgery. Byju arranged Rs 5.5 lakh from his relatives and friends.