Over 80 per cent of the non-rural funds raised on crowd-funding platform Milaap are for medical reasons, says co-founder and President Anoj Viswanathan.

And that, despite the “giving platform” having set out with a different intent, of being an urban-to-rural connect between individuals. Where individuals could contribute money towards a cause or a person in need through Milaap.

But about four years into their operation, Milaap found that contributors were making inquiries on whether they could raise funds for medical treatment in cases where an individual’s health insurance or savings could not cover the cost.

The medical fund-raising just evolved, says Anoj. Over ₹280-plus crore has been raised through the platform, of which the rural projects, financed from the start for about seven years, account for about ₹125 crore and medical needs stand at over ₹140 crore in over three years.

A patient family, a doctor treating the patient or an assisting social worker... anyone can help raise funds for medical treatment. And they do it by writing up a profile on the individual, treatment cost and so on and publicising it themselves on the Milaap site. Alternatively, they approach Milaap to promote their request through established social media networks.

Either way, the process involves putting out some personal details in public, including a photograph. Which is why counselling for the family and consent become important, says Dr Sujata Deepak.

A paediatric oncologist, Sujata had been involved with raising funds for children with cancer where the parents were unable to fund the treatment. Parents sometimes do not want the picture of their child with an illness to be made public. At times it arises from concern over stigma, but often it is because they do not want to upset a grandparent, who would be shocked to know that the child has cancer, says Sujata.

Significantly, much of the funds raised, almost 65 per cent of it, is from within India, says Anoj. This is a change from the early days when 80 per cent of the contributions came from abroad.

Milaap takes 5 per cent of the funds raised; in that sense, if the campaign does not raise money, there is no revenue in the kitty either.

The young company has already encountered the travails that seasoned health insurance companies face in terms of fraud. It weeds them out by seeking letters on medical estimates from the doctor, , watermarks and algorithms that redflag cases that lift details from other Milaap campaigns. Once the cases are certified as authentic, payments are made directly to the hospital.

Milaap has tie-ups with hospitals and corporates and seeks to widen its net by going into smaller cities and carrying campaigns in local languages. With families being pushed into poverty because of medical expenses, the “tech-for-good” company’s initiative gives patients’ families an avenue to cope with massive medical bills.

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