Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique, while addressing an awareness seminar organized by the Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Programme (PTPP) at Fatima Jinnah Medical University in connection with the World Thalassemia Day, here today, said that PTPP has been expanded to all 36 districts of the province where services for screening of thalassemia carriers are being carried out.
So far, one hundred thousand people belonging to 3232 thalassemic families have been screened out, the minister added.
The treatment of thalassemia is very costly and painful for the patients; therefore, prevention is the only solution to eradicate the disease, he said.
Vice Chancellor FJMU Professor Dr Aamir Zaman Khan, Director PTPP Dr Shabnam Bashir, MS Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Nauman Matloob, Professor Javeria Manan, Professor Tasneem Raza and a large number of doctors, nurses and medical students attended the seminar.
Dr Shabnam Bashir spoke at the seminar and said that training programmes have also been launched for doctors and nurses from the platform of PTPP. She informed the audience that the PTPP is carrying out awareness campaigns regarding thalassemia and is providing the patients with pre-natal diagnostic facilities, genetic counseling and pre-marital and general population screening, when required, under this programme. She informed the audience that four regional centers are working in this regard and that the field staff that is deputed on the centres goes from door to door for collecting blood samples that are then sent to the central DNA test lab in Lahore, through a courier service, where diagnostic facility for pre-natal identification is provided. She said that each DNA test costs Rs. 30 to 35 thousand but this facility is being provided to the people, for free. She further added that she had received a request from the government of KPK for providing assistance to them for launching thalassemia prevention programme in KPK on the pattern of the campaigns of PTPP. She said that planning has been done to establish such labs at all the divisional headquarters in the next fiscal year. She said that World Health Organization appreciated the efforts and services of PTPP.
Khawaja Salman Rafique added that the scope of PTPP has been expanded and work is being done to improve this programme to cater for the needs of the people. Moreover, consultation for legislation with the Law Department is underway to make the thalassemia test mandatory for couples before marriage. For this purpose, draft bill is being prepared which would be tabled in the Punjab Assembly very soon.
