After Eman, Saifee docs to raise funds for 7 kids

After raising more than Rs 21 lakh for treatment and travel of Egyptian national Eman Ahmed, who was once the world’s heaviest woman, doctors from Saifee hospital would be launching a similar crowdfunding campaign to help seven obese children they plan to treat.

Three of the children — Yogita Nandwana (7), who weighs 45kg; Anisha, 5, is the heaviest at 68kg; and brother Harsh, 3, weighs 25kg — are in Mumbai to meet Saifee doctors who invited them for a check-up a few months ago.

“The children came to the city on Thursday morning. We will take them to Saifee Hospital. If they can treat a foreigner with so much care, why not our own?” said Dilip Nandwana, uncle of the three children.

The doctors at Saifee hospital are expecting four more children — two from Maharashtra and two from Gujarat — to join the trio.

“These children belong to poor families. So we are thinking of starting a crowdfunding campaign — similar to the one initiated for Eman — to raise funds for their treatment,” said Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, bariatric surgeon and Eman’s doctor.

Lakdawala said that after Eman’s successful recovery, he is excited to treat these children.

He told HT the mutation in the LEPR gene — which caused Eman’s condition — is responsible for the children’s severe obesity.

“Currently, there is no specific treatment for this condition. But a drug called MC4R Agonist, only available through a pharmaceutical company in the US, could help these children,” he added.

Lakdawala said he has spoken with the manufacturers, who have agreed for a medical trial and is likely to administer the drug to put the children.

Stating that bariatric procedure, like the one performed on Eman, was an option for the children, he added, “We avoid surgical procedures on paediatric patients. As it’s a monogenic disorder, we will have to give a shot at the drug which was previously administered to three patients.”