Thalassemia day: ‘More, better treatment facilities needed’

Candle-light vigil, awareness walks held for patients.

LAHORE:

There are more than 50,000 beta thalassemia children in Pakistan, who require monthly blood transfusions and chelation therapy to withdraw excess iron from their bodies, Dr Yasmin Rashid told an event held for the International Day of Thalassemia on Thursday.

As many as 44 thalassemia associations have joined hands to form the Thalassemia Federation of Pakistan (TFP). According to a handout, the purpose of establishing the TFP has been to support various associations nationwide that work for the treatment and prevention of thalassemia.

Rashid also mentioned that recently the government had initiated the Punjab thalassemia prevention programme, which she said was an important first step towards prevention of the disease in the province. Rashid said the TFP urges provincial governments to provide free treatment and prevention services to thalassemics in the country. The prevention programmes should constitute a number of initiatives starting from creating mass awareness about thalassemia.



Candles were lit for a vigil on Wednesday at Liberty Chowk by the Thalessemia Society of Pakistan. Yasmin Rashid and other office bearers were present to express solidarity with thalessemia patients. The Society’s members distributed pamphlets to promote awareness about thalessemia. Yasmin Rashid said the Thalessemia Society of Pakistan had been established in 1994. She said the thalessemia test was essential for every person so that more babies were not born with the disease. She said that among every 100 people, seven were thalassemia patients. She said the society was taking care of more than 1,800 patients admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Walk in connection with Thalassemia Day at LGH

Thalassemia is a hereditary disease that can only be controlled through a vigorous awareness campaign supported by practical steps, Post Graduate Medical Institute Principal Anjum Habib Vohra said on Wednesday. He was speaking at the end of an awareness walk at held for International Thalassemia Day at PGMI.

He said the disease could be eradicated if parents went through thalassemia screening before having children, he said. There are thousands of children in Pakistan suffering from thalassemia who will need blood transfusion permanently.

Medical experts said if a man and a woman were both suffering from thalassemia minor, their children could have thalassemia major. Therefore, they said, thalassemia screening test prior to marriage should be compulsory. The speakers said thalassemia was not an infectious disease. The participants emphasised the need for social organisations, the media and religious scholars to play a role in generating awareness about the disease.

Students of Post Graduate College of Nursing, Nursing School of LGH, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Children Hospital participated in the walk. They were carrying posters and placards.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2014.