TTD’s Pranadanam Trust brings relief to poor patients for 25 years

Nearly 25 years after its formation, the Sri Venkateswara Pranadanam Trust continues to fund the treatment of economically disadvantaged patients suffering from chronic diseases.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) launched the scheme under the Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), a super speciality hospital in Tirupati. Interestingly, the scheme was inaugurated on October 1, 2001 by the present Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu during his earlier tenure.

The trust was conceived to receive donations from philanthropists and utilise the funds to meet the surgical and treatment requirements of the poor.

Recently, the TTD Joint Executive Officer (Health and Education) A. Sharath conducted a review meeting to monitor the performance of the scheme as it enters its 25th year.

The TTD has enhanced its financial assistance to the trust in phases. The contribution stood at ₹15 lakh per month in February 2003 and was increased to ₹25 lakh per month in April 2005, ₹30 lakh in March 2006, ₹50 lakh in January 2008 and a substantial ₹1 crore per month in April 2014.

So far, 51,957 donors have contributed about ₹520 crore to the trust. Between November 2001 and February 2026, a total of 27,710 patients received medical treatment worth ₹158 crore through the scheme. The trust also bears the cost of artificial organs, implants and blood bank services, offering vital support to poor patients.

Apart from funding treatment and complex surgeries, the trust also supports research on chronic and specific diseases. The ailments covered include chronic kidney failure, haemophilia, thalassaemia, cancer, cardiac diseases and neurological disorders such as ataxia, chorea, hemiballismus and aphasia.

The TTD Chief Public Relations Officer T. Ravi has renewed his appeal to devotees visiting Tirumala for darshan to donate blood at the SVIMS hospital and make their pilgrimage more meaningful.