BY U.ZEE
ISLAMABAD: Managing Director, Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), Amir Fida Paracha on Monday said that PBM has planned to launch a nationwide awareness campaign on prevention of Thalassemia among the children soon.
According to a report, approximately 100,000 patients are suffering from Thalassemia in Pakistan and every year 5,000 babies are born with this deadly disease.
These patients need regular blood transfusion and iron chelating agent after consultation with a qualified Hematologist along with regular diagnostic investigations on monthly basis which is unaffordable by the poor families in Pakistan.
Talking to APP, Amir Fida Paracha said, “Thalassemia is a disease which can be controlled through educating people about its prevention.”
He mentioned,”The reason of transmission of this disease to the next generation is basically the marriage of two Thalassemic patients which can be avoided through spreading awareness.”
“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 transfusion,” he observed.
The MD PBM said,”Thalassemia awareness campaign will be run with the help of the universities.”
“Higher education institutions are the best platforms from where we can initiate our campaign by educating the young minds and engage them to further spread information about the causes and prevention measures of this disease,” he said.
Referring to the example of Turkey, the MD PBM said that Turkey has controlled over this disease through making a separate section in marriage certificate for the verification of the marrying couple if any of them are Thalassemic patient.
During last three years, Amir Fida Paracha conveyed that the PBM has provided financial assistance to more than 3000 Thalassemia patients. Keeping in view the importance such centers and to cater the patients in Pakistan, PBM in financial collaboration with a private company had established a state of the art Thalassemia Center in F-9 Park to provide free of cost medical treatment facilities to the patients.
“The main objectives behind creating this facility are to extend quality medical care free of cost, increase life expectancy and improvement in the quality of life for those inflicted by this daunting disease and provide a ray of hope amidst miseries of the children with neglected backgrounds and orphans and less privileged who cannot afford the cost for the treatment of this serious disease,”he informed.
Thalassaemia is a blood disorder passed down through families (inherited) in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.
The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia. Anemia is a disorder in which your body doesn’t have enough normal, healthy Red Blood Cells (RBC).
This disease is inherited, meaning that at least one of the parents is a carrier of the disease. It is caused by either a genetic mutation, or a deletion of certain key genes.
