On World Thalassemia Day 2023, health experts and social activists in Pakistan demanded legislation for premarital thalassemia tests and awareness campaigns to control the spread of the genetic blood disorder. They also called for avoiding cousin marriages, which are a major cause of thalassemia disease spread in the country.
At the event, Asad Azam, project director of Pakistan Sweet Home for Thalassemia, stated that 100,000 children suffer from thalassemia in Pakistan, and the number is increasing by 15,000 every year. Azam urged the government to make legislation like Iran, Maldives, and Cyprus to disallow marriage if the girl or boy is diagnosed with this disease before marriage. This would ensure treatment for the patient at an early stage, which is essential since the body stops producing blood when children suffer from thalassemia between the ages of seven months and one year. The only treatment for thalassemia is a bone marrow transplant, which must be done at an early age.
Professor Hassan Abbas Zaheer, an expert on thalassemia, called upon families with a history of thalassemia to screen their children before marriage to help control the spread of the disease in the country. He emphasized that thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder and called upon philanthropists to play an active role in providing relief to the patients.
Read More: Genetic Disorders Attributed to Cousin Marriages – About Pakistan
In response, Punjab Health Minister Dr Jamal Nasir claimed that the Punjab government is providing free screening facilities to thalassemia patients, and efforts are being made to make vaccination and complete treatment 100% free for thalassemia patients. He emphasized the importance of blood donation, stating that donating blood protects the donors from cancer, heart attack, and stroke diseases.
However, due to the rapid growth of the hereditary and contagious disease of thalassemia and the most expensive treatment and the distressing situation of blood transfusions every month, the government has not been able to do much to help patients and their parents. Private sector blood donation work for thalassemia patients is ongoing on a large scale.
The main objective of celebrating World Thalassaemia Day was to draw the attention of the general public, patient associations, public authorities, and healthcare professionals to promote actions on prevention, management, or treatment of the disease in a patient-centered manner. According to health experts, the control of thalassaemia is a difficult task that can only be achieved through the assistance of prenatal diagnosis and prevention programs.
