19-year-old weightlifting champion diagnosed with 80% heart damage gets new lease of life with the support of GiveIndia

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22nd January, Bangalore, India: When teenage weightlifting champion Shubham Agarwal suffered a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital, his family was shattered. But refusing to give up on his son, his father, a small mobile recharge shop owner, rushed him to Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai where he was put on ventilator support and had to undergo a bypass surgery at the earliest.

Diagnosed with 80% heart damage only a heart transplant could save this 19-year-old the medica said. With very little family income and no savings to fall back on, Shubham’s parents, with the help of GiveIndia, a Bengaluru-based nonprofit donation platform, started a fundraising campaign to shore up the estimated ₹80 lakh required to cover all costs.

GiveIndia initiated the fundraiser on December 10, 2020. With the support of more than 5,000 donors, Shubham’s parents were able to raise ₹58 lakh. Most importantly, Shubham now has a new heart, his health is currently stable and he will stay under observation in the hospital for the next few days. The parents further need ₹23 lakh more for end to end care.

“Banking on a culture of generosity, crowdfunding helps people in need of funds raise money for their specific cause from thousands of willing donors, in a hassle-free manner, without entailing any payback liability. Shubham’s story is heart-warming, and we hope he recovers soon,” said Priyanka Prakash, Director, Head of Online Giving, Marketing and Partnerships at GiveIndia. She further added, “As more financially distressed patients come forward to utilize the GiveIndia platform, we hope to play our part in making healthcare in India more accessible.”