Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Saturday inaugurated a Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (NAT) lab at the headquarters of Indian Red Cross Society here.
The lab has been set up by the Thalassemia Patients Advocacy Group (TPAG), the patient wing of Thalassemics India as part of their Safe Blood Campaign to prevent transmission of infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, C or HIV through blood transfusions.
The event also involved the launch of Thalassemics India three blood collection vehicles – 2 vans funded by DXC and 1 tempo travelers funded by LIC. This was Thalassemics’ India’s contribution for voluntary blood donation.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that while, the government is taking relevant steps towards prevention and better management of Thalassemia in the country, these steps to initiate blood collection vans and advanced blood-screening technology are just in the right direction to support safe-blood availability for the patients.
He also appealed for blood donation to save lives of patients during any medical emergencies or chronic health conditions like Thalassemia and Blood Cancer.
Anubha Taneja Mukherjee, Member Secretary, Thalassemia Patients Advocacy Group, said, NAT is a world class blood screening methodology believed to be extremely effective in screening transfusion transmitted infections ( TTIs) due to its reduced window period. “The technology is even more relevant for patients of thalassemia, who depend on frequent transfusion and are more susceptible to infections as compared to others.”
Later Mukherjee shared that they have been stressing on inclusion of patients in policy making as decision makers may not be experts in every subject or issue. “It would therefore be pertinent to include a patient representative who understands the trials and tribulations involving the relevant condition. For instance, the decision makers could invite thalassemia patients to be a part of the policy making while devising a new policy on thalassemia as patients are the ones who undergo the hardship of a particular disease.”