Giving hemophiliacs a helping hand

On Thursday night, twelve-year-old Govind Kangne began vomiting profusely, and was rushed to KEM hospital. He suffers from hemophilia, a group of genetic disorders that impair the body’s ability to control blood clotting. Kangne was lucky; he needed expensive medicines which were provided by the Hemophilia Society.

But now, patients like him might soon gain some respite — in a meeting with the Union health minister Ghulam Nabu Azad and other state health ministers, public health minister  Suresh Shetty recommended that the treatment of these diseases should be a part of the national health programme. The Union has also proposed an allotment of Rs92.77 crore for the treatment of hemophilia, thalassemia and sickle cell anemia patients in last month’s state budget.

“We have allotted Rs92.77 crores in the state budget for the treatment of these patients,” said Bhushan Gagrani. “This was accepted by the minister, but it's not yet finalised,” said Gagrani.
Thalassemic and sickle cell anemic patients, on the other hand, need blood transfusion almost every week. Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder that results in the excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia.

“Since our patients require blood transfusion almost every week, they suffer from iron overload,” said Vivek Shetty, Think Foundation.

Balshiram Ghandhave, the secretary of Hemophilia society Mumbai notes, “Most patients do not have the money to buy factors. I know patients who just apply ice and hope for the best. As a precautionary measure, children don’t indulge in any outdoor activities, which just makes them weak. It’s a vicious cycle which can be broken if factors are made available by the state.”