CHICAGO - Under the leadership of Pradeep kandimala, the ENDTHALNOW observed the World AIDS Prevention Day in Chicago to spread awareness about prevention of Thalassemia. The event had thirty volunteers who helped put it together. #EndThalNow is a global initiative to recruit 100,000 blood donors in 100 days in Hyderabad, India. This target was announced as the first impact goal at the event.

Co-Founder Pradeep stated: “A little known fact about Thalassemia is that the disease perpetuates from carriers to offspring in the event of two carriers have a child together. All it takes for the condition to stop perpetuating further is people having the information as to whether an individual is a Thalassemia carrier through a regular and straightforward blood test. However, in the event of a child being affected by Thalassemia, it takes regular blood transfusions to extend their life based on how severe their condition is. The costs are expensive since the patient needs consistent healthcare every single month, which most families are unable to bear, especially in resource-starved countries like India, where the project is set to take off.”

As described by the Co-Founder of ENDTHALNOW global initiative -  Pradeep Kandimalla, the organisation aims to tackle the issue of Thalassemia head-on and strives to eliminate it completely by 2030.

Dr. Narmadha Kupuswamy was the keynote speaker of the event. The event was the launch of the global initiative named ‘ENDTHALNOW’ meaning ‘End Thalassemia Now.’  Dr. Kupuswamy educated the attendees about how Thalassemia propagates from carrier parents to children who end up having tough lives. She spoke about how little babies are required to go in for regular blood transfusions and often even though it is painful and disrupts their life. In most cases, Thalassemia affected babies do not live for more than ten years, said the doctor.

The ENDTHALNOW team that is based both in Chicago, USA and Hyderabad, India has been making significant strides in controlling the deadly disease.

Equipped with an experienced team of social workers who have worked closely within the college student demographic, ENDTHALNOW.org team plans to conduct awareness drives and talks in colleges across Hyderabad, educating about the preventive methods. 

The organisation based in both the countries is currently aiming to register 100,000 blood donors in 100 days while promoting the prevention of Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Disease.

Renowned Telugu singer Praveen Jaligama and his son Shishir Raghava Jaligama were present to support the ENDTHALNOW initiative launch. His idea of partnering with ENDTHALNOW is to create a humanitarian impact through music as a medium.

The venue for the event and lunch was sponsored by Mr. Ashok Pagadala. The event was sponsored by Ugandhar Nagesh from SwadeshMediaUSA, Sai Ravi Suribhotla, Ashok Lakshmanan, Santhigram, and Dr. Siddeswar Gubba. Ms. Anica Dubey conducted the event as the master of ceremony.