CMC observes Children’s Day with Thalassemia Kids

Ludhiana, November 14, 2018: The departments of Clinical Hematology, Bone Marrow Transplantation and Paediatrics at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana conducted a Thalassemia patients meet on November 14, 2018 on the occassion of Children's day. It was an interactive event attended by children with thalassemia who were on regular follow up in CMC, along with patients who had undergone a bone marrow transplantation at CMC, with their parents. The main objective of the meeting was to increase awareness about the current management of thalassemia. Thalassemia is a congenital disease of hemoglobin production, which can leads to a lifelong dependency on regular blood transfusions, along with a number of complications such as inadequate growth, inability to attend school, and a number of heart and liver problems that can occur over a long time due to accumulation of iron in the body. The definite treatment for Thalssemia is a bone marrow (stemcell) transplantation, in which the blood forming tissue (bone marrow) is replaced by cells from a suitable donor. In the absence of a donor, the options include getting a matched unrelated donor (MUD) from many of the available worldwide registries, or continuing the child on regular transfusions only. CMC Ludhiana was the first institution in North India to initiate bone marrow transplantation for Thalassemia, and has successfully completed over 70 transplants for Thalassemia so far, for which it is recognized by the National marrow donor program (NMDP) from USA. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Aikaj, Head of the department at blood bank discussed safe and effective transfusion practices. Dr. Jugesh and Dr. Atul from the department of Pediatrics emphasized the need for regular follow up of these children, as all the complications of the disease should be addressed before they are severe and cause further problems. Dr. Suvir Singh, Dr. Chepsy Philip and Dr. Joseph John from the Department of Clinical Hematology emphasized the efficacy of bone marrow transplantation and how it is more cost effective over a long term compared to transfusions. Financial support for transplantation through various government and non-government organizations was also discussed. Dr. Dhruv, Associate director CMC Ludhiana also re asserted the complete support of the administration in making this a centre of excellence in Thalassemia. CMC Ludhiana is the only centre in Punjab providing complete services, from pre-natal diagnosis (under Dr. Ranjit and Dr. Kavita) to bone marrow transplantation. CMC Ludhiana is involved in patient advocacy programs, and it is hoped that government support is eventually obtained for these patients to ensure that as many children as possible are able to receive a bone marrow transplantation.