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Genetic testing that begins on a card.

Lightening Lives develops REASSURED genetic tests for inherited disorders. Each test starts with a few drops of blood dried on a card, and is designed for the scale of a public health programme.

Partner with us See our tests

A healthcare technology company in Hyderabad. We supply institutions and programmes only.

Scroll to follow one sample
A small dried blood spot card held open: a cover flap, one dashed collection circle holding a dried blood spot, and a barcoded pocket. Rows of closed cards fade into the distance behind it.
One sample

A few drops of blood, dried on a card.

That is the whole sample. Collection is simple and minimally invasive, and our tests are designed so that it doesn't call for specialised training.

The open card seen from above: a single dried blood spot inside its dashed collection circle, above a barcode and sample code.
One batch

From card to result without a DNA extraction step.

Our tests are extraction-free and designed to run with minimal laboratory infrastructure. The workflow is automation-friendly and built for high-throughput screening, so results come back quickly.

The same card, now closed, set down in a grid of many others that each carry the Lightening Lives logo and a barcode.
One programme

Built for screening at the scale of a nation.

Tests
Developed for Government of India health programmes, including the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.
Laboratory
In Hyderabad, alongside our corporate office.
Field work
In Nandurbar, Kothagudem and Jharkhand.
Awareness
Programmes for communities and counselling for families, mostly on behalf of the government.
See the evidence
Thousands of cards laid out in the shape of India, seen from straight above. Four places are pinned and named: Hyderabad, our laboratory and office, and Nandurbar, Kothagudem and Jharkhand, where we have done field work.
On the map

Choose what the map shows.

Show on the map

Sickle cell disease is most common in a belt across central India, from Gujarat to Odisha.

  • The central belt, where it is most common
  • Other focus states of the national mission

Point at a state to see what the map says about it.Tap a state to see what the map says about it.

Sources

Sickle cell: Hockham et al., Scientific Reports (2018); National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Thalassaemia: National Health Mission, Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Hemoglobinopathies in India (2016); Mohanty et al., Journal of Community Genetics (2013); Madan et al., Indian Journal of Human Genetics (2010). Indicative only, shown by state: frequencies differ more between communities than between states.

Map summary. Sickle cell disease is most common in a belt across central India, running from south-eastern Gujarat through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to south-western Odisha. The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission covers 17 focus states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Uttarakhand. Thalassaemia: found across India, where on average 3 to 4 people in 100 are carriers; higher carrier frequencies are reported in Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra and West Bengal. Where we have worked: Hyderabad (laboratory and corporate office), Nandurbar (Maharashtra), Kothagudem (Telangana) and Jharkhand.

The map of India made of cards, seen from straight above, with state borders drawn on it and the states the chosen layer marks shown in yellow and named.

What stands behind the tests

  • Validated by ICMR

    LitLife™-SCA, our sickle cell anaemia test, is validated by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

  • Working with CSIR-CCMB

    An MOU with the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, covers developing and commercialising the sickle cell assay.

  • Built for national programmes

    Tests developed for Government of India health programmes, including the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.

  • Made by a certified manufacturer

    Our tests are produced by a third-party manufacturer that holds a quality certification.

A test for any inherited condition a programme needs

These five are the tests we have developed so far. Each began with an institution that needed one, and the next can begin with yours.

  • Sickle cell anaemia

    Inherited blood disorder

    LitLife™-SCA, our flagship. A simple dried blood spot test, developed for the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission.

    • Validated by ICMR
    • Dried blood spot
    About the condition

    Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder in which red blood cells become rigid and sickle-shaped, slowing or blocking blood flow and causing pain, anaemia, infections and organ damage. In India it is most common among tribal communities. The Government of India launched the Elimination Mission in July 2023, aiming to eliminate sickle cell disease as a public health problem by 2047.

  • Thalassaemia

    Inherited blood disorder

    Genetic testing that supports carrier screening, diagnosis and family counselling.

    About the condition

    Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body makes too little haemoglobin. People with the severe form, thalassaemia major, need regular blood transfusions throughout life. Carriers are usually healthy and often unaware of their status; when both parents are carriers, each pregnancy has a 1 in 4 chance of thalassaemia major.

  • Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)

    Neuromuscular disorder

    A test that is adaptable and affordable for large-scale newborn screening, where early detection leads to timely care.

    • Dried blood spot
    About the condition

    SMA is a rare inherited neuromuscular disorder that damages the nerve cells controlling muscles, causing progressive weakness that affects movement and, in severe forms, breathing and swallowing. Treatments now exist and work best when started early, ideally before symptoms appear, which is why newborn screening matters.

  • Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD)

    Neuromuscular disorder

    An earlier genetic diagnosis that allows timely care and lets families find out whether relatives are carriers.

    About the condition

    DMD is an inherited muscle disorder that mainly affects boys. The body cannot make dystrophin, a protein muscles need, so muscles weaken progressively from early childhood. Diagnosis often comes late; an earlier genetic diagnosis lets families find out whether relatives such as mothers and sisters are carriers.

  • Blood coagulation disorders

    Inherited bleeding disorder

    Genetic testing that confirms a diagnosis, identifies carriers and supports family counselling and care planning.

    About the condition

    In inherited bleeding disorders such as haemophilia, blood does not clot properly because a clotting factor is missing or low. Haemophilia A and B mainly affect males; women can be carriers.

  • The condition you need next

    Tell us what your programme or laboratory needs to screen for. We develop the test, to the same REASSURED standard as the five above.

    Talk to us about a new test

The standard we design to, letter by letter

REASSURED is a published set of nine criteria for diagnostic tests that work in low-resource settings. We develop our tests to meet all nine.

  1. Real-time connectivity

    Results can be read or shared digitally with decision-makers.

  2. Ease of specimen collection

    Samples are simple and minimally invasive to collect.

  3. Affordable

    Affordable for the people tested and for the health system.

  4. Sensitive

    Few false negatives.

  5. Specific

    Few false positives.

  6. User-friendly

    Simple to perform, with minimal training.

  7. Rapid and robust

    Quick results; tests survive transport and storage without special conditions.

  8. Equipment-free or simple

    No special equipment, or only simple devices.

  9. Deliverable to end-users

    Reaches the people who need it most.

SourceLand et al., Nature Microbiology (2019).

We work with institutions

Our tests are supplied in bulk, to institutions and government programmes. Most of that work begins as a collaboration.

  • Hospitals, laboratories and clinicians

    Genetic tests for inherited conditions, designed to run with minimal laboratory infrastructure.

  • District health officers and government programmes

    Tests developed for national health programmes, for screening at population scale.

  • NGOs and CSR funders

    A partner for large, population-level screening requirements.

For individuals

Looking for a test for yourself or your family? We supply tests to institutions only. Please speak to your doctor or visit your nearest government health facility.

Awareness and counselling, alongside the tests

A result only helps if people understand it. We run awareness and counselling programmes, mostly on behalf of the government.

Awareness programmes explain inherited conditions and screening to communities. Counselling helps people and families understand results and carrier status.

Ask about our programmes

Where our field work has taken us

A monsoon-green gorge with a thin waterfall dropping down red basalt cliffs at Toranmal, Nandurbar district, Maharashtra.
Nandurbar, Maharashtra
Still water of the Kinnerasani reservoir with a forested island, Bhadradri Kothagudem district, Telangana.
Kothagudem, Telangana
A hill road winding through forest above the Patratu reservoir, Patratu Valley, Jharkhand.
Patratu Valley, Jharkhand

Tell us what your programme needs

Choose where you would like to begin. Each option opens an email to our team.

Write or calladmin@lighteninglives.in+91 91825 88191

Orders are institutional and in bulk. Order details are discussed per request, based on your institutional or regulatory requirements.