Children suffering from thalassaimia sit for their treatments at Sundus Foundation in Lahore. PHOTO: NNI
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan is still witnessing a rise in the number of thalassaemia patients due to the lack of a nationally coordinated effort despite the fact that Sindh, Khybr-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab have passed laws proposing compulsory screening of couples before marriage.
This was stated by State Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar while addressing an event regarding World Thalassaemia Day observed on May 8.
She explained that there are around 100,000 patients of thalassaemia major from an estimated total of 10 million carriers and about 6,000 new cases surface every year. It was also told that only 22,000 thalassaemia major patients are registered with private and public-sector thalassaemia centers in the country.
Afzal said the federal government has established a high quality thalassaemia centre at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences which has 2,000 registered thalassaemia major patients.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 9th, 2015.
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