MUHAMMAD SALEEM

LAHORE: Currently, there are 60,000 thalassemia registered cases in Pakistan and at least Rs 300,000 spent on each patient who has to go through a very painful process.

This was revealed in a media workshop on “Thalassemia,” arranged by Punjab Thalassemia Prevention and Control Programme (PTPC), at FJMU, here on Wednesday.

Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Kh Salman Rafiq said on the occasion that promotion of health education and pre-marital mandatory thalassemia test is inevitable for effective control on thalassemia for which legislation is essential.

“Punjab Health department has moved draft law to the Law department and after developing consensus on this draft law, legislation process would be started accordingly,” he said.

He said that many countries like Greece, Maldives, Cyprus, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran either reached zero level in thalassemia cases or controlled it up to 90 percent through legislation.

Pro-Vice Chancellor FJMU Prof Amir Zaman Khan, Registrar Prof Shareen Khawar, MS Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Nauman Matloob, Project Director PTPC Dr Shabnum Bashir and the experts from UK Dr Mushtaq and Dr Shehnaz also participated in the workshop.

Dr Shabnum Bashir informed that DNA laboratory is working in which prenatal and other diagnostic tests are being carried out. She informed that cases not only from whole of Pakistan but also from Afghanistan coming here for this purpose.

She said that birth thalassemia control is very important to check spread of this disease. She said that opportunities for higher education and training are being provided to the doctors with the collaboration of UHS and FJMU.

She said that PTPC has conducted 84,655 tests of the family members and 536 major thalassemia cases of pregnant women have been detected.

Dr Shabnum Bashir said that latest treatment and diagnostic facilities has increased the life expectation of the thalassemia patient. She said that the real target is to control birth thalassemia. She said that people do not have awareness about it and intermarriages of minor thalassemia carriers and cousin marriages are increasing different genetic diseases including thalassemia.

Salman Rafiq directed that PTPC should forward recommendations along with the estimates about the future requirements for DNA lab, setting up centers at divisional headquarters so that it could be included in the ADP of next year.