Numbers of children born with Thalassaemia ‘not decreasing’

The number of children born with Thalassaemia in the Maldives is not decreasing, a meeting of health professionals revealed.

A forum on controlling the condition began at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital Wednesday with the involvement of doctors and other health professionals,  local media reported.

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder which may require regular blood transfusion due to abnormal hemoglobin production. A bone-marrow transplant is the only known curative treatment for the condition.

According to the Maldivian Thalassaemia Society, the Maldives has the highest prevalence of Thalassaemia in the world with 18 percent of the population being affected by it.

IGMH family doctor Niyasha Ibrahim said there are over 600 children in the Maldives with the condition, Sun Online reported.

“The situation… is that (the number of) children born with Thalassaemia is not decreasing,” she said, adding that many children die at a young age because of the condition.

Health Minister Abdulla Nazim, who was speaking after inaugurating the forum, said successful bone-marrow transplants have been done for over 40 children in addition to five children who are currently abroad for the procedure.

He underlined the importance of controlling Thalassaemia, claiming the government had done a lot to create awareness over the past four years.