Health facility: Thalassaemia on the rise

KARACHI: There are around 200,000 thalassaemia patients in the country and about 5,000 new cases surface every year. This was revealed by Dr Asim Qidwai, the founder of the Afzaal Memorial Thalassaemia Foundation (AMTF) on Thursday. Awareness, he said, can reduce this increasing number. Speaking to the media at the new facility located in Ayesha Manzil, Dr Qidwai said that the leading cause of death among thalassaemia patients is heart disease. He added that the facilities at AMTF will make it a regional health facility in the coming years. Dr Qidwai urged people to donate blood to thalassaemia centres regularly.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 27^th, 2015.