Sunday Times 2
Please help Ashen to undergo urgent liver transplant
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Ashen with his parents
Ashen Charuka is six years old and suffers from a rare condition of the liver. The young child needs an urgent liver transplant, which has to be performed in Chennai, India at a cost of Rs. 7.5 million. The young parents, living in Niwandama Jaela, are unable to afford this enormous cost and are reaching out to the generous public and kind philanthropists to help their first-born live.
Ashen was born with a complication of the liver. At one and half months he went through surgery (biliary artesia) at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. The intervening years were kind. The boy lived a normal life for over five years, going to pre-school and then entering the local primary last year. But this happiness did not last. Six months ago, the child began to lose weight rapidly and his stomach became distended. He was diagnosed at the LRH as having Chronic Liver Disease and in need of urgent liver transplant.
The family was introduced to an Indian medical institute which had performed many such surgeries successfully on young children. There are only two obstacles- a liver donor who matches the blood profile of the patient and the prohibitive cost. The child’s father, Ruwan Chamara Fernando is able to donate a part of his liver. This is a huge positive- if the family can finally raise the funds required for the surgery and post-surgical care for two months in India. Ashen’s father works in a printing press in Kelaniya. They have given him five months leave with pay to travel to India with the son and attend to the surgery.
The family appeals to well-wishers, kind philanthropists to contribute to saving Ashen’s life. Daily, the parents trawl the streets of Jaela appealing to individuals and businessmen to contribute to their fund. The amount they need is enormous. The family needs your help. Please contact the parents on 071 3883948 or 0725221224. Bank Account No. 239-2-001-1-0040132 (People’s Bank) and 8005028364 (Commercial Bank)