Anurav is only eight months old, but his tiny veins have already been pierced by more needles than his parents can bear to watch.

“He is so tiny, and we are heartbroken to see all these needles go into his veins,” says his father, Kajinder.

A month ago, their little boy was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML), a rare and serious form of blood cancer. Since then, Anurav’s days have been filled with hospital visits, medicines and chemotherapy.

For his parents, every needle is a painful reminder that their baby is fighting an illness far too big for someone so small.

Until now, chemotherapy has been part of Anurav’s treatment. But his family has now been told that he needs a bone marrow transplant, which doctors hope will give him a better chance of overcoming the disease.

The treatment is expected to cost around Rs 30 lakh at CMC Ludhiana.

For Kajinder, arranging this amount is an overwhelming challenge. He is the only earning member of the family and works at a chicken shop, where he cooks and earns around Rs 20,000 a month.

But caring for Anurav has meant that Kajinder has had to stay away from work repeatedly. He was on leave for almost a month earlier and has now had to take another half-month off. For him, every day away from work means a day without income.

There is no paid leave and no other source of income to fall back on.

As the family's savings and resources are stretched, Kajinder finds himself caught between two things he cannot afford to lose: his income and time with his sick child.

But right now, Anurav needs his father more than ever.

At just eight months old, he is too young to understand why he is in a hospital or why he has to endure chemotherapy and painful procedures. All he knows is that his parents are beside him.

And his parents are holding on to hope.

They are hoping that the bone marrow transplant will give Anurav a chance to recover and return home. They dream of seeing him grow up, take his first steps, go to school and live the ordinary childhood that cancer has interrupted.

Your support can help Anurav access his bone marrow transplant and give this eight-month-old baby a chance at the life he deserves.