Mumbai: School students raise funds for mucormycosis patients

Amid growing cases of mucormycosis during the ongoing second wave of Covid-19, two school students from Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort are raising money for the treatment of patients suffering from the black fungus infection

Amid growing cases of mucormycosis during the ongoing second wave of Covid-19, two school students from Cathedral and John Connon School, Fort are raising money for the treatment of patients suffering from the black fungus infection.

Arnav Gupta (left) and Ranai Loonkar.

Mucormycosis is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes, and causes blindness, organ dysfunction, loss of body tissue and even death if not treated on time, said doctors. Since the beginning of the second wave in February, more than 160 Covid-recovered patients have contracted mucormycosis in the city and 20 of them lost their lives to the infection.

With the aim to help such patients financially in their treatment, two Class 10 students — Arnav Gupta and Ranai Loonkar, both aged 15 years — have started an initiative to raise ₹2 lakh. In the past one week, they have been successfully raised over ₹1.89 lakh on the crowdfunding portal Impactguru.

It all started when two weeks back, Arnav went for a check-up to an ENT specialist who is associated with the civic-run BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central. While having a general discussion, his doctor told him about the growing cases of mucormycosis among patients who have recovered from Covid-19. This motivated him to raise money to help the patients with treatment along with his friend Ranai.

“The treatment is quite expensive, which many people cannot afford. The price of the life-saving antifungal injection, Liposomal Amphotericin B, ranges from ₹5,000 to ₹8,000. So, I decided to help the patients within my own limit by raising the money,” said Arnav.

The two teenagers did their research and contacted Impactguru for the campaign. Along with the crowdfunding portal, they are trying to raise awareness through their social media accounts.

“Through WhatsApp, we have been dispersing information to our friends and families to raise money. Since the campaign started seven days ago, 30 people have already contributed,” said Ranai.

The money will be donated to BYL Nair Hospital to be used towards treatment of patients suffering from mucormycosis.

“After starting the campaign, we have been receiving calls from several patients. In fact, we got a call from Jabalpur seeking help with medicines. This shows how people are struggling to get treatment and medicines. This is the least we could do for the society in this pandemic,” said Arnav.