Courtesy - Daily Mirror By Sandun A. Jayasekera
“The Kurunegala General Hospital’s National Thalassemia Centre (NTC) said the number of Thalassemia patients were increasing and this places a bigger burden on the health ministry because the government was solely responsible for its treatment,” ministry spokesman W.M.D. Wanninayaka said.
He said latest data showed that in Sri Lanka there were 1,600 Thalassemia patients and of them 160 were children.
“The saddest part is that this dreaded disease is incurable with patients needing life-long treatment and constant medical observation. The only way to contain the disease is to prevent the marriage between two Thalassemia carriers. If both parents are Thalassemia carriers, their children will definitely end up as Thalassemia patients,” Mr. Wanninayake said.
He said blood tests would be done at government hospitals free-of-charge and a medical certificate certifying the health of the prospective bride and groom would be a must for the marriage. “The health ministry spends about Rs.350 million annually to treat Thalassemia patients,” Mr. Wanninayake added.
