The Ministry recently released a policy on the Prevention and Control of haemoglobinopathies in India. Thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia are the most frequently encountered ‘rare blood disorders’ in the country and impose a significant economic burden on families. The policy aims at creating treatment protocol benchmarks, to improve the quality of life of patients. Such free treatment is given in States such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and Karnataka besides Delhi, and others should follow suit. “In Pakistan, a law making carrier testing compulsory for relatives of Thalassaemia patients was passed in February.

Source: The Hindu July 26, 2017 16:18 UTC