Delhi: 47-day-old patient up for 'adoption' at AIIMS

New Delhi: All of 47 days, Ahad is battling for survival at AIIMS. He is suffering from maple syrup urine disease-a rare metabolic disorder where a newborn can't digest mother's or even animal milk. To keep him alive, Ahad needs to be fed special formula milk costing Rs 10,000 a month, which his poor parents can't afford.

The hospital has now placed the baby under its "adopt a patient" programme. Dr V K Paul, professor and head of pediatrics department at the institute, said proper feeding could help save Ahad's life. "The child may require special milk till the time he can digest solid diet," he said.

Ahad's mother, Imrana, herself is undergoing treatment for a suspicious lump in the breast. Speaking to TOI, she said her husband who worked as a driver barely earned enough to sustain the family. "We have spent all our savings and exhausted all sources of help," she said. The family lives in a small house in Kalu Sarai in south Delhi.

Dr Ramesh Aggarwal, professor of pediatrics at AIIMS, said: "Children suffering from this disorder are normal at birth. Symptoms occur when they are given mother's milk. It has proteins that can't be processed by the body due to inborn errors of metabolism."

Aggarwal said Ahad was brought to hospital seven days after birth. "He was unconscious and had multiple seizures. He is much better now and, with the right diet plan, can survive," he said.

In the last six months, since the launch of the 'adopt a patient' policy, the premier medical institute has made similar requests for more than 25 people.