Preventing thalassaemia
There are around 100,000 thalassaemia patients in Pakistan. It is a life-long affliction and the patients need frequent blood transfusion together with costly medicines to stay alive. It is all because of lack of awareness, as the debilitating disease can easily be prevented. Men and women intending to marry each other should undergo a blood test to know whether they are thalassemia minor and if both of them test positive for thalassaemia minor, some of their children will likely suffer from thalassaemia major requiring blood transfusion every fortnight. In that case, they must avoid getting married. Most of the provinces in the country have a law that makes it mandatory to take a thalassaemia test before marriage. Unfortunately, the law is obeyed more in breach than observance, hence the prevalence of the disease. Worst is the situation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where there are 40,000 thalassaemia patients, but only one hospital to handle such a large number.
The disease can be fully eradicated through bone marrow transplant till a certain age. Besides the age limit, bone marrow transplant is highly expensive, which is unaffordable for most people. Haemoglobin is the component of blood that helps in the intake of oxygen in humans enabling them to breathe. The hemoglobin level in thalassaemia patients needs to be replenished through blood transfusion twice a month. The availability of blood mostly depends on blood donors. Considering the growing number of thalassaemia patients in the country, there is the need for more people to come forward to donate blood for a humanitarian cause. There are thalassaemia centres where patients are provided with blood transfusion and the necessary medicines for free. Individual philanthropists too are extending a helping hand to those suffering from the disease by bearing the cost of blood transfusion and medication. If treated properly, those with thalassaemia are not inferior to others. Like fully healthy people, they excel in education and other fields.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2021.
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