Thalassemia patients at high risk in Ramazan

Due to the decrease in blood donations in the month of fasting, the lives of children suffering from thalassemia, haemophilia and other diseases are at stake.

It has become a challenge for charities and parents to manage blood transfusions whereas medical experts have suggested citizens to donate blood after breaking the fast.

Speaking exclusively to The Express Tribune, Kashif Iqbal Thalassemia Care Centre (KITC) Chairman Kashif Iqbal said, "before the month of Ramazan, our thalassemia centre received 15 to 20 blood donations per day, but during the fasting month, we hardly get four or five blood donations." Managements of thalassemia centres face a lot of difficulties due to lack of blood donations, Kashif said.

He said that in Ramazan, most of the children suffering from thalassemia, haemophilia and other diseases face the risk of dying due to scarcity of blood donations. "We request people, but they refrain from donating blood while fasting. Children's parents suffer from mental agony for want of vital blood donations to sustain their children."

He further said that there is always a significant decrease in blood donations during Ramazan, after which the Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority (SBTA) avoids setting up camps. Generally, when a charity needs blood, SBTA arranges blood from other blood banks.

Kashif Iqbal said that normally, they organise blood donation camps in various industries, universities and institutions but during Ramazan all these institutions refrain from participating in such activities. His thalassemia centre organises four to five camps every month to collect blood donations, but even one camp is difficult during Ramazan due to lack of blood donors.

He asked the willing ones to come to their Thalassemia Center after Taraweeh as they are facilitating 24/7. Donating blood reduces the risk of blood pressure and heart disease. Rumors are spread that if people donate blood while fasting, it will have negative effects on their health while there is nothing like that. He said that he is 67 years old and still donates blood.

Kashif also mentioned that most of the times many healthy people don't donate blood even though the blood level in their body is 13 or 14. Within 20 hours of donating, the same level of blood is regenerated. I have 900 thalassemia children in my center in Karachi. I need two thousand bottles of blood every month. There are 2500 children in Nawabshah's centre, so I have to arrange 5,000 bottles of blood for them.

There are 600 children in the centre of Badin, 1200 bottles of blood are needed there, 1100 children in Rawalpindi while 2200 bottles of blood are needed. He said that the population of Karachi consists of more than 20 million people still they are not getting two hundred bottles of blood is a matter of concern.

The executive director of Muhammadi Blood Bank and Thalassemia Center, Dr Moisa Sajeel said that there is a clear decrease in blood donations in the month of fasting, which is 40 to 50% less than the usual. In this situation, patients with thalassemia and hemophilia face problems because these patients require blood on a daily basis. Therefore, especially in the month of Ramazan, we try to set up more campuses and educate the citizens. A healthy person can donate blood two hours after breaking the fast.

Dr Durre Naz Jamal, secretary of Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority, says that the problem of blood shortage always comes up during Ramazan. She said that they are in touch with all the institutions so that if one centre is not getting blood, they can take from another. We recommend citizens to donate blood comfortably after Taraweeh. Blood banks and thalassemia centres should prepare a strategy before Ramazan so that they do not face difficulties during the holy month.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2024.