At yesterday’s cabinet meeting, the decision was made to combine the services provided by the National Thalassaemia Centre and the Blood Transfusion Centre in a new body entitled the Maldivian Blood Services.
The government has yet to disclose further details about the proposed organisation.
Maldivians suffer the world’s highest rate of the blood disorder, with 18 percent of the population registered as carriers. The illness causes severe anaemia in sufferers and requires regular blood transfusions.
On World Thalassaemia Day, May 8, the Maldivian Thalassaemia Society (MTS) released a statement criticising the unequal treatments available to Thalassaemia sufferers who live outside of the capital, Male’, where the National Thalassaemia Centre currently provides transfusions.
