Htar is an eight-year-old girl who has a blood disorder called thalassemia. Due to her poor health, she has had to drop out of school.
She lives with her parents, an older brother, and a younger sister in Hpa-An, Karen State, Burma. Her parents and oldest brother work as subsistence farmers on their rice field, while her sister goes to school.
Up until she was six years old, Htar did not show any symptoms of having thalassemia. Gradually, she grew pale, was constantly tired, and developed a stomachache. When her mother noticed her symptoms, she brought her to a clinic in Hpa-An, where she was given blood transfusions twice a month without any explanation about her diagnosis.
Htar mother finally took Htar to Mae Tao Clinic, our medical partner’s care center, where she was referred to Mae Sot Hospital and the doctor informed the family that Htar would require surgery for her condition. If not, she might need blood transfusions very often, and her condition would not improve.
She is scheduled to undergo a splenectomy on February 23 at our medical partner’s care center. Now, the family needs help raising $1,500 to pay for surgery.
