Are There Enough Facilities In Pakistan For Thalassemia Patients?
Are There Enough Facilities In Pakistan For Thalassemia Patients?: Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which either the body is unable to produce enough red blood cells or enough hemoglobin. Thalassemia cases in Pakistan are on the rise, with an average of 5000 children diagnosed every year. Treatment of Thalassemia in Pakistan is available in most of the hospitals and depends largely on the type of Thalassemia. That said, a successful treatment is only achieved if the patient is compliant.
Blood Transfusions
Blood transfusions or more specifically Red blood cell transfusions are regularly performed. This ensures a steady but temporary supply of normal red blood cells in the body. Since majority of the patients don’t have normal red blood cells, they suffer from anemia and symptoms such as dizziness, shortness of breath and even skeletal deformities.
Patients suffering from Thalassemia major may require up to 8-12 transfusions per year whereas less severe cases may require less than 8 transfusions in a year. Although facilities are available in Pakistan, there is low patient compliance as it is a costly treatment and most of the patients belong to a low-income set-up.
Consequences of Blood Transfusions
Regular blood transfusions, though beneficial, come at a cost. Regular transfusions may over-activate the spleen. The spleen in turn starts destroying the transfused red blood cells, rendering the transfusions ineffective. In such cases, a splenectomy may be performed to remove the spleen.
Regular blood transfusions also bring in extra iron to the body. This extra iron proves to be harmful as it gets stored in various organs of the body, including the heart, liver and the endocrine glands. This deposited iron stimulates an autoimmune reaction in the body. To counteract this, a chelating agent, Desferal, is used to drain out the excess iron from the body.
Bone-Marrow Transplant
In most of the cases, the bone marrow is unable to produce red blood cells and a bone-marrow transplant is required. That said, it is very costly and not many hospitals offer this mode of treatment of Thalassemia in Pakistan. Finding a compatible donor may also take a long time.
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