Daily Times

LAHORE: In order to reduce the prevalence of thalassemia among children in the province, the Punjab government has recently drafted a law, making blood tests mandatory for thalassaemia investigation for everyone wishing to get married. The law would act as a preventive measure to curb blood complications and other disorders in children.

The law implies that all residents of Punjab are bound to clarify the blood screening tests in order to get married. No person shall marry without certification for thalassaemia prevention, as it is the most common genetic disorder in Punjab with a gene prevalence rate of 6 percent. Translated into statistics, every 6 out of 100 people in Punjab carry this mutant gene.

With a population of nearly 180 million, over 10 million people are healthy carriers of this gene in Pakistan. Thalassemia is an autosomal recessive disease, and if two carriers get married to each other then they would have 25 percent chance of having an offspring with thalassemia major. Over 6,000 affected children are born annually, meaning 17 affected children are born each day in Pakistan.

In order to survive, these children require regular monthly blood transfusions and chelation therapy to withdraw excessive iron from their bodies. An estimated sum of Rs 180,000 is required for each child per annum, whereas bone marrow transplant, which is the only permanent treatment currently available, costs more than Rs two million.

With an average life expectancy of 12-16 years (in Pakistan), thalassemia major child has very difficult life to live.

Well-placed sources told Daily Times that a high level committee has been constituted, comprising highly professional team members, by the Punjab government to curb the epidemic. With Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Programme Director Dr Shabnam Bashir, Institute of Public Health (IPH) representative Dr Sajjaedul Hasan and RMC Section Officer Itique Munawar involved, committee held its meetings and prepared ‘Punjab Prevention and Control of Thalassemia 2016’ law to prevent and control thalassaemia with a compulsion of pre-marital blood testing.

The committee has proposed that all the people residing in Punjab, who are to get married, shall undergo testing for their thalassaemia status.

Couples who fail thalassaemia screening test and still marry shall be punishable with fine up to Rs 100,000.