West Bengal: ‘Kids more susceptible to thalassaemia’

By: Shaibalina Choudhury
KOLKATA: West Bengal, along with Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar, fall within the thalassaemia belt of India and it’s the children who remain the most susceptible, said Dr Prosanto Kumar Chowdhury, consultant in haemoglobinopathy.
He also said: “World Thalassaemia Day is celebrated everywhere in a grand manner.It has become a cliché. When we think of thalassaemia, we link it to children. But, what are we doing to save these children?”
Chowdhury said there was an immediate need to create awareness. “Blood donation camps are held across the city on Independence Day, Republic Day, but not a single camp is held on Children’s Day,” he added.
According to census 2017 report, 5% of the entire population in India is born with transfusion-dependent thalassaemia. For a child to be born with thalassaemia either of the parents should be the carrier of thalassaemia.