Funding treatment for patients unable to pay their medical bills at Christian Medical College, Vellore
Update 2026
CMC Vellore is currently unable to use funding from the UK to support patients through the Person-to-Person scheme. CMC remains fully committed to supporting patients who cannot afford their care and continues to fund PTP through its own domestic resources while it works through this process. We don’t expect this to change until sometime in 2027, and we will update this page as soon as it does.
We’ve written individually to our regular PTP donors about this and offered options for how they’d like their 2026 donations to be used. If you’re a regular donor and haven’t yet let us know your preference, please contact georgina@friendsofvellore.org
We’re not able to accept new donations to PTP at this time.
While UK contributions to PTP are paused, you can still support patients facing similar hardship through Jawadhi Hills Hospital, which is extending healthcare to a tribal community in Tamil Nadu with very limited access to medical services. Information on how to donate is here.
You can also give to our Mission Hospital Patient Support Fund, which pays for treatment for patients who can’t afford their care at mission hospitals linked with CMC Vellore. Find out more here.
If you have any questions about the current situation or would like to know more about these alternatives, please contact georgina@friendsofvellore.org
The Person-to-Person Scheme
In spite of CMC working hard to minimise treatment costs, some patients are still not able to afford treatment. The Person to Person (PTP) scheme provides an opportunity to contribute to the cost of a specific patient’s care.
Donors give money to the PTP scheme, which is used to provide small targeted grants (up to Rs 10,000 or approximately £100) to help pay the hospital bill for specific patients. Often this treatment is life-saving.
How is the scheme run?
The PTP scheme is organised and implemented within the hospital. Medical or nursing staff or social workers identify patients in their clinical department who cannot afford to pay their bills and who could be helped by the PTP scheme. CMC bears the cost of administering the programme, so every penny given goes directly to help poor patients.
Examples where PTP made a difference
Stories of some people who were helped by the PTP scheme can be found here:
Make a donation
Thank you for your support – it means so much to those who desperately need medical treatment but cannot afford to pay for it.
