Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafiq has said that process of legislation on compulsory pre-marriage blood screening test of the couple for thalassemia has been started and a draft bill is prepared by the Punjab Thalassemia Prevention and Treatment Programme (PTPP) in collaboration of the law makers. He said that a consultative seminar would be organized in next month to share the draft bill with all the stakeholders and to get their proposals on it. Religious scholars, members from civil society, medical professionals and other important personalities from different segments of the society would be invited in the seminar.
He stated this while presiding over a meeting to review the performance of PTPP at Civil Secretariat, today. Besides, Secretary Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Najam Ahmad Shah, Special Secretary Dr. Sajid Chohan, Project Director PTPP Dr. Shabnam Bashir, Deputy Secretary Health (Tech) Dr. Mohsin and the officers of Development Wind attended the seminar. Kh. Salman Rafiq said that though the Thalassemia is a very painful and fatal disease, however, prevention from this disease is very easy. He said that generally this is an inherited disease but adopting preventive measures one can save himself from this deadly disease. The Minister said that there is a need to launch a comprehensive awareness campaign through print and electronic media so that people should start taking preventive measures while keeping its seriousness in their minds. Dr. Shabnam Bashir said that without screening the disease cannot be diagnosed and if the patient of thalassemia minor married the child would be born with thalassemia major which needs fresh blood transfusion every month in whole life which is very painful and expensive procedure, also have side-effects due to that survival of thalassemia children is very difficult. She disclosed that many countries including Islamic countries have made legislation for mandatory pre-marriage blood screen of the boy and the girl to control the disease and this experience was proved very successful.
Secretary Najam Ahmad Shah directed that a chapter on thalassemia prevention on the pattern of dengue should also be included in the syllabus of educational institutions. Shah said that Board of Intermediate & Secondary Education should be approached for this purpose. He further directed that preparation in all aspects should be made for the successful holding of the seminar.