ISLAMABAD: It is time for religious scholars and educators to play their role in promoting awareness about thalassemia among citizens and convince them to donate blood which is the only ray of hope for the survival of patients suffering from this disease.
“The life of thalassemia patients depends on blood transfusion which cannot be made in any laboratory but can be acquired from other persons”, said Dr Atifa who is running an NGO named AAS in Rawalpindi for patients of this disease.
She said that mosques are a very strong and effective platform in rural areas which should be positively utilised for educating people about this disease.
While talking about the cause of the disease she said that there are two types of thalassemia; major and minor. thalassemia minor develops when one of your parents is a carrier of this disease. If this occurs, you probably won’t have symptoms but you’ll be a carrier of the disease. Some people with thalassemia minor do develop minor symptoms.
However, if both parents are carriers of thalassemia, you have a greater chance of inheriting a more serious form of the disease.
“Following societal taboos, people believe that if girls take the test to determine its presence, they may have difficulties in their marriage which is a wrong perception,” she stated.
Dr Atifa advised that cousin marriages should also be discouraged for the prevention of this disease as it multiplies the chances of this disorder.