PBM To Launch Nationwide Thalassemia Awareness Drive

News Desk

Islamabad: Pakistan Baitul Mal (PBM) Managing Director Amir Fida Paracha announced on Monday that the organisation has plans to start a national awareness campaign about preventing childhood thalassemia.

According to a research, Pakistan is home to 100,000 people with Thalassemia, and 5,000 new-borns are diagnosed with the fatal condition each year. After consulting with a trained haematologist, these patients require regular blood transfusions, iron chelating agents, and monthly diagnostic tests that are beyond of reach for Pakistan’s poor households.

Paracha said, “Both the parents, if are Thalassemic patients, may not face the severe consequence of this disease but their child has to suffer for the rest of his life and depend on blood transfusions. The main cause of this disease being passed down to the next generation is the marriage of two Thalassemic patients which can be prevented via public awareness campaigns.”

He stated, “Higher education institutions are the ideal venues from which we can launch our campaign by teaching the next generation and motivating them to spread knowledge about the causes and treatment options for this illness.”

Referring to the example of Turkey, the Managing Director informed that through the creation of a special section on marriage certificates for the verification of the marrying couple’s status as Thalassemic patients, Turkey has managed to control this condition.

More than 3000 people with thalassemia have received financial support from the PBM over the past three years. PBM has built a cutting-edge Thalassemia Center at F-9 Park in financial partnership with a private enterprise to offer sufferers free access to medical facilities.

“The main goals of building this facility are to extend high-quality medical care at no cost, extend life expectancy, improve the quality of life for those affected by this terrifying disease, and offer a glimmer of hope for underprivileged children, orphans, and other people who cannot afford the high cost of this serious illness’ treatment,” he apprised.

Thalassaemia is a blood disorder passed down through families (inherited) in which the body produces an abnormal form of haemoglobin, the protein that delivers oxygen in red blood cells. Anemia is brought on by the disorder’s excessive red blood cell oxidation.