{"id":24703,"date":"2026-07-31T14:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T14:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/?p=24703"},"modified":"2026-07-31T15:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:17:01","slug":"tripura-toddler-needs-urgent-gene-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/2026\/07\/31\/tripura-toddler-needs-urgent-gene-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Tripura Toddler Needs Urgent Gene Therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Agartala, July 31:<\/strong> A statewide appeal for financial assistance has gathered momentum in Tripura as <strong>23-month-old Manashree Choudhury<\/strong>, diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder <strong>Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)<\/strong>, races against time to receive a life-saving gene therapy before her second birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday, <strong>Kalyanpur MLA Pinaki Das Choudhury<\/strong> extended support to the family by donating <strong>\u20b91 lakh<\/strong> and handing over a cheque to Manashree&#8217;s father, <strong>Dhruba Choudhury<\/strong>. The legislator also appealed to people across Tripura and the country to come forward with financial contributions to help save the child&#8217;s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Doctors have advised that Manashree must receive <strong>Zolgensma<\/strong>, one of the world&#8217;s most expensive gene therapies, before she turns <strong>two years old on September 3<\/strong>. The treatment is administered only once through an intravenous infusion and has the potential to significantly improve the condition of children suffering from SMA if given within the recommended age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cost of the injection remains a major challenge. While its original price is estimated at <strong>\u20b914\u201316 crore<\/strong>, reduced import duties could lower the cost to around <strong>\u20b98\u20139 crore<\/strong>. Despite an overwhelming public response, the family has so far managed to raise approximately <strong>\u20b95.5\u20136 crore<\/strong>, leaving a substantial gap before the treatment can be arranged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the family, Manashree will also need to travel outside Tripura <strong>15 to 20 days before the scheduled treatment<\/strong>, making the fundraising effort even more urgent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking to reporters, MLA Pinaki Das Choudhury said saving the life of a child is a collective responsibility and urged people from all walks of life to extend support. He said every contribution, regardless of the amount, would bring the family closer to securing the treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manashree&#8217;s father, Dhruba Choudhury, said SMA is a severe genetic disorder and that timely administration of Zolgensma is the only hope for his daughter to lead a normal life. Expressing gratitude to everyone who has already contributed, he appealed for continued public support to help bridge the remaining funding gap before the crucial treatment deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With only a few weeks left, the family continues its desperate race against time, hoping that collective generosity will give Manashree a chance at a healthy future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Agartala, July 31: A statewide appeal for financial assistance has gathered momentum in Tripura as 23-month-old Manashree Choudhury, diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), races against time to receive a life-saving gene therapy before her second birthday. On Friday, Kalyanpur MLA Pinaki Das Choudhury extended support to the family by donating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":24704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[6140],"class_list":["post-24703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tripura"],"authors":[{"term_id":6140,"user_id":243,"is_guest":0,"slug":"bindusmitabhowmik","display_name":"Bindusmita Bhowmik","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-02-at-11.04.01-AM.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-03-02-at-11.04.01-AM.jpeg"},"author_category":"1","first_name":"Bindusmita","last_name":"Bhowmik","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24703"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24713,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24703\/revisions\/24713"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24703"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=24703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}