KOCHI: Amid a campaign under way against alleged profiteering by firms that make wigs, the wig donation at Cochin Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) is learnt to have stalled with the higher-ups at CCRC taking a stand to focus on other activities than wig donation, which has hit cancer patients who aspire for wigs.
According to sources, for the past six months, the Wig Club at CCRC which was inaugurated in November 2017 on the occasion of the first anniversary of CCRC OP wing, has been inactive with no hair collection and wig donation. Before that 40 wigs were donated to patients from here. At CCRC, the wigs were donated at no cost for the institution and the patients with Aby Poothokaran of Thrissur-based Miracle Charitable Association making the wigs. He said that he takes the hair to wig makers at Mangalore and Chennai who takes additional hair to cover the cost of wig making. CCRC collected hair by conducting hair donation camps and mainly students came forward to donate hair.
“I have videos with me where patients express happiness after getting wigs so that they can go for work when undergoing chemotherapy. We have made 700 wigs in three years and donated them,” said Aby. Agreeing that there has been no activitiy for the past six months in this regard at CCRC, he said that currently 25 cancer patients are in queue for wigs at CCRC and a function is being planned to donate them wigs in association with CCRC authorities.
CCRC oncologist Dr Ushasree Warrier, who is in charge of the Wig Club, said that there has not been any ban on hair donation or wig distribution. “We conduct such events on World Cancer Day on Feburary 4 but this year we could not do it when Ernakulam Govern-ment Medical College students approached us to donate hair. We will conduct one soon,” she said.
