‘Rs200m for bone marrow transplant’

LAHORE
AdvisEr to Punjab Chief Minister on Health Kh Salman Rafique on Wednesday said Shahbaz Sharif had provided special a grant of Rs 200 million for bone marrow transplant project at the Children Hospital and the facility would be started within a year, providing a great help to the thalassemia patients.
He was addressing symposium held at Children Hospital for the awareness and training of the doctors.
Institute of Child Health and Children Hospital Dean Prof Dr Masood Sadiq said 700 thalassemia-affected children had been registered at the hospital where they were getting the treatment facilities. He said the haematology and oncology ward of the hospital had 60 beds as compared to 100 patients who had been admitted. He stressed the need of setting up more children hospitals in the country.
He thanked Shahbaz or providing additional fellowship seats in the haematology and oncology department and said eight doctors were doing their second fellowship in the field.
Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Programme Project Director Prof Shamsa Hamayun said 5,000 children were born in Pakistan with thalassemia every year and a rough estimate of thalassemia-infected children in Pakistan was over 50,000.
Prof Ahsan Waheed Rathore said doctors and parents faced many difficulties in the treatment and taking care of thalassemia patients; therefore, a close liaison between was essential.
Prof Nisar said volunteer blood donors’ culture did not exist in Pakistan and, therefore, doctors, parents and thalassemia children were facing many difficulties in arranging of fresh blood and transfusion.
Kh Salman said the Blood Transfusion Authority (BTA) had been made functional after 15 years and the registration /inspection of blood banks was started to eliminate the business of substandard and unscreened blood.
He said necessary amendments had been proposed in the law of BTA to enhance the sentence and fine for running substandard blood banks, with the crime being made a non-bailable offence.