A Hindu family from Karnataka was asked to convert to Christianity in return for free treatment for their son affected by Thalassemia. The family had decided to accept their demand as they cannot afford the costly bone marrow transplant treatment. But the BLDE hospital in Karnataka extended a helping hand after which they have dropped their plan to convert.
Iranna Nagur, a 34 year old Dhaba worker was finding it difficult to meet his 3 year old son’s medical expenses as the disease is a rare one and demands costly medicine and treatment. His Rs.12,000 a month earning was not enough to meet both his family’s needs and the medical expenses. He told The New Indian Express, “I was exhausted as I could not get any financial support from anywhere for the treatment of my son. I used to earn Rs 12,000 per month but I was forced to spend nearly half of the earnings for the medical treatment of my son.”
He had spent Rs.3 lakh towards his treatment and couldn’t afford to spend more due to his financial circumstances. He went to most of the cities in the neighbouring states in search of better and cheap treatment. When he went to a hospital in Vellore in Tamil Nadu, the hospital run by a Christian missionary organisation reportedly asked him to convert in return for the treatment.
Iranna revealed that he was asked to offer prayers in church for two months everyday and that there were also talks about getting the family converted to Christianity. even toured most of the cities in South India in search of better medical treatment for his ailing son. However, a hospital in Vellore of Tamil Nadu run by a Christian Missionary reportedly had assured of helping him on certain conditions, including offering prayers at church for at least two months.
The hospital had offered to make all the arrangements for treating his son’s disease including bone marrow surgery which costs around Rs.10 lakh. Iranna said, “I was determined to accept Jesus because the hospital authorities had promised to take care of all the medical expenses of my son”. Fortunately Congress MLA M B Patil who came to know about Iranna’s situation is said to have directed the management of BLDE Hospital in Vijayapura, Karnataka to provide free treatment. MB Patil is the Chairman of BLDE Association.
Media hasn’t revealed the name of the missionary hospital. Christian Medical College is a well-known missionary hospital in Vellore with a reputation of luring people into converting on the promise of medical seats, treatment, etc.
