‘6,000 thalassaemia carriers increaseevery year in country’

LAHORE: The registered number of Thalassaemia major patients in Pakistan stands at around 60,000 while as many as 6,000 thalassaemia carriers are adding up in some 12 million carriers across the country, piling up the burden every passing year.

The only answer to push back the burden of deadly disease lies in effective pre-diagnosis and prevention programme across the country, otherwise the healthcare facilities will be facing immense burden.

This was the crux of discussion and awareness programme on the prevention of thalassaemia organised by Thalassaemia Society of Pakistan and Punjab Thalassaemia Prevention Project (PTPP) in connection with the International Thalassaemia Day at Fatima Jinnah Medical University (FJWU). The day was observed under the theme: “Universal Access to Quality Thalassaemia Healthcare Services: Building Bridges with and for Patients.”

PTPP Project Director Dr Shabnum Bashir said the project had set up four regional labs in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan and Bahawalpur, while two more regional labs in Faisalabad and D.G. Khan had been established and formally be inaugurated after Eid-ul-Fitr. The remaining three regional labs in Sargodha, Sahiwal and Gujrat would be established next year.

She said the project’s field staff was working across the 36 districts of the province to offer awareness about thalassaemia prevention and pre-diagnosis facilities at people’s doorstep. Dr Shabnum Bashir also said the project had trained a large number of doctors and gynaecologists and conducted thalassaemia carrier screening on 180,000 persons, including 60,000 during the last one year.

Stating that some 17 newborn children are being reported as thalassaemia carriers in the province every day, the PTPP project director said it was just a tip of the iceberg and added the magnitude of the prevalence of this disease was much higher in the country. “There is a need for the federal government to take up the matter and ensure prevention services across the country to check the disease as well as offer robust treatment facilities to the patients at tertiary care hospitals,” she said.

PTPP Deputy Project-Director Dr Hussain Jafri said the Punjab Health Department had almost finalised a bill for mandatory thalassaemia screening before marriage and would soon be sent to the Punjab Assembly for legislation. “The law may require every man’s screening before marriage and if he is found a thalassaemia carrier, his would-be-bride would be screened. Even if both will be found thalassaemia carrier, they will be allowed to take an informed decision about marriage,” he said. Punjab Industries Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal said he would fully support the thalassaemia screening bill in the Punjab Assembly for its early legislation. He agreed that the federal government should also take up the matter to prevent the disease across the country. He acknowledged that the government should establish a dedicated centre to train doctors to prevent and cure thalassaemia. FJMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Amir Zaman and TSP Coordinator Abdul Munim Khan also spoke on the occasion.