Bidurin Chakraborty was one of the first recipients of Glivec through Novartis’ donation program. He was in fact, the first pediatric patient in GIPAP India.
Five years ago, Bidurin came to us, a frail 11 year old who had undergone a Bone Marrow Transplant but still needed Glivec to stabilize his counts and keep him healthy enough to be the doting older brother to Barnita his adoring little sister. Theirs was and is a very unusual and magical bond in itself – little Barnita was able to give her older brother another chance in life. Having been told that only a Bone Marrow Transplant from a sibling donor could mean cure for their young son, Bidurin’s parents had Barnita tested. Their joy knew no bounds when the little girl’s marrow was found to be a match for her brother! With the help of a local Minister of the state (Bidurin hails from West Bengal) and with proceeds from an unusual auction – an auction of cricketing gear from none other than the then India Cricket Captain Sourav Ganguly – funds were raised for the transplant.
Today, Bidurin is a strapping young lad of sixteen and recently attended the 5th World Oncology Camp in Michigan, USA. He is one of a four member team of cancer survivors from India who choose to share their experiences and encourage other young children diagnosed with malignancies. Bidurin wants to show them that there is indeed life after cancer!!