neither Khan nor his wife needed the test as they have perfectly healthy children with their previous spouses.
Dr Tahir Sultan Shamsi, a renowned haematologist and director of the National Institute of Blood Diseases (NIBD), was pessimistic over the effect of making Thalassaemia status mandatory in a country where ‘a majority of hospitals, including prominent teaching hospitals, did not have Thalassaemia testing facilities’.
He was also sceptical over citizens’ honesty in such matters. “Our people are willing to forge health certificates and cheat to perform Umrah or Hajj. Even if we manage to make Thalassaemia tests a mandatory pre-marriage requirement, people will simply figure out means to acquire fake certificates,” said Dr Shamsi.
Karachi Press Club Secretary AH Khanzada opened with an expansive view over the matter, stating that the Almighty had provided treatments for every disease in this world and, for those that were untreatable, prevention had been prescribed as the only safeguard.
He opined that the entire society, including lawmakers and the government, should be held responsible for non-implementation of the bill and called for dedicated steps for its elimination.
Prominent human rights activist, Ansar Burney, said awareness was key to eliminate Thalassaemia from society. “People must be personally motivated for Thalassaemia status tests and should also take up regularly donating blood for affected children,” he said.
Burney also criticised the bill for its lack of punishment for offenders, adding that until its provisions were strictly implemented there could be no hope of betterment. He suggested that a day be fixed for weekly blood donation and announced he would be donating blood at the OSF Centre on Friday.
District Central Deputy Commissioner Dr Saifur Rehman said Thalassaemia was a disease that could be prevented without any costly measures but regretted that, in Pakistan, there were many people who refused to have their children vaccinated.
“There is something wrong with us as a society; we have become terribly insensitive. Diseases that have been eliminated from the rest of the world are still crippling our children and ruining their lives, and all we are doing is debate over the pros and cons of preventive measures,” he lamented.
Others including OSF Secretary Dr Saqib Ansari, Hamdard Medical College Principal Dr Furqan Ahmed, Mrs Kishwar Saleem, Tariq Khan and Muhammad Raza of Meezan Bank also spoke at the seminar.