Transparent Hands

Transparent Hands (TH) is a Lahore-based non-profit that started operations in 2014. It is a global crowd funding platform that uses its website and other social media tools to raise funds for needy patients in Pakistan who require surgery but do not have the money to pay their medical bills.

The organisation uses a four step process. In the first step, it works out contracts with different hospitals in Pakistan. Then it registers patients recommended by the hospitals who are then sent to the recommending hospital for verification, preparation of a final diagnosis report and a cost estimate for the required procedure. TH then assigns a unique number to the patient and starts the crowd funding campaign through its website and social media tools by uploading the patient’s picture, case history and the necessary operation package together with the amount that the patient is requesting donors to provide. In the third step, potential donors view online the patient’s request and all other necessary details and make a donation either through credit card or bank transfer. In the fourth and final step, TH closes the campaign once the required amount has been raised and pays the hospital upon which the hospital carries out the patient’s treatment. Finally, the success stories of recovering patients together with other documents are shared on the Transparent Hands web-portal for all donors to be informed.

Since it began its first campaign in September, 2014, and till April, 2015, TH has been able to provide free of cost surgeries to more than 150 patients in Pakistan and has paid out as much as PKR 7.76 million. Earlier donors did not know who to donate and where to donate. Now, they can easily log on to the TH website and select the campaign in order to donate for whoever they want.