Harsh Vardhan inaugurates Thalassemia Screening and Counselling Centre at Indian Red Cross

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday inaugurated a Thalassemia Screening and Counselling Centre at Indian Red Cross Society's National Headquarters (IRCS NHQ) Blood Bank.

Dr Harsh Vardhan lauded efforts of the Indian Red Cross. "Initiatives such as these will enable us in educating the common people on prevention of this disease," he said.

The Union Health Minister stated that there are around 270 million Thalassemia patients in the world. India has the largest number of children with Thalassemia major in the world, about 1 to 1.5 lakh, and about 10,000-15,000 children having Thalassemia major are born every year.

According to an official release, the only cure available for such children is bone marrow transplantation (BMT).

Dr Harsh Vardhan stated that this new initiative of IRCS will provide a golden opportunity to administer adequate therapy to those affected enabling them to lead a better life and preventing the birth of children affected with hemoglobinopathies, through carrier screening, genetic counselling, and prenatal diagnosis.

"This programme will aid in the prevention of birth of children affected with hemoglobinopathies, through well-planned screening programmes, information dissemination, and awareness generation activities and help avert the imminent threat of this genetic disorder turning into a major health problem," he stated.

In India, Thalassemia Major (TM) and the severe form of Thalassemia Intermedia (TI) constitute the major burden of disease.

( With inputs from ANI )