Thalassemia control: NA panel passes bill to make blood test compulsory

ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Thursday has unanimously passed a bill to make blood tests compulsory for relatives of thalassemia patients and to take concrete steps to control the genetic disorder.

The meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat was chaired by MNA Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan.

MNA Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, who moved the Compulsory Blood Test of the Relatives of Thalassemia Patient Act, 2014, demanded the immediate passage of the bill.

She underscored that thalassemia kills a large number of children in the country every year, adding there was an urgent need to take appropriate steps to stop further spread of the disease.

MNA Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto fully endorsed the bill, saying the preventable disease came at a hefty financial and emotional cost for the families of thalassemia patients. She urged the government to ensure treatment facilities at federal level that could also serve as a model for the provinces.

MNA Nafeesa Inayatullah Khan Khattak recommended carrying out blood tests before every marriage since the disease was increasing exponentially in the country.

Dr Hassan Abbas Zaheer, project director of the Safe Blood Transfusion Programme informed the committee that at present, there are almost 0.1 million cases of thalassemia in the country, with an increase of 6,000 cases every year.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2016.