The samples of immediate family members of 25 Thalassemia affected children were collected in a camp organised at Doon hospital here on Thursday. This sampling is done for Human leukocyte Antigen (HlA) typing so that appropriate donors for life saving bone marrow transplant for these kids could be found.
The camp was organised under joint aegis of Himalayan Society of Thalassemics (HST) and Sankalp India Foundation; most of the children who attended it belonged to poor families.
MH Qazi, a resident of Inder road Dalanwala and father of a 11 year old Thalassemia patient, Mohammad Kaif, said that his son needs blood transfusion in every 20 days which is painful for the youngster and problematic to the family. He said that he has brought his family members so their samples could be collected for HlA typing.
The worried father said that the family is ready for the bone marrow transplant so that little Kaif is cured of this disease. He claimed that governments and Punjab and Haryana offer Rs 1 lakh per year to the Thalassemia patients but in Uttarakhand the government does not provide this help.
The blood test HlA typing is needed to know if a potential donor is a compatible match for the bone marrow transplant with the Thalassemia children. It has to be done for all the family members (brothers, sisters, mother and father).
The President of the HST, Puneet Kaura said that it is the fifth camp of the society. He informed that the results of HlA typing would take at least three to four months and after that the parents can find out as to which family member is best suited to be the donor of the bone marrow.
Rajat Kumar Agarwal of Sankalp India foundation said that the organization also helps in the bone marrow transplantation. NK Gusain who was present in the camp said that 10-12 years is the ideal age for the bone marrow transplantation. He informed that the Thalassemia patients are required to undergo Iron Chelation therapy regularly as iron starts depositing in their blood vessels due to constant transfusion.