25th International Thalassemia Day observed at DMCH

Ludhiana, May 6, 2016: In view of 25th International Thalassemia Day, Departments of Pediatrics and Transfusion Medicine along with Punjab Thalassemic Welfare Society (PTWS) at DMCH Ludhiana today organized 17th Annual Medicos Voluntary Blood Donation Camp. 200 units of blood were collected during the camp. A special felicitation ceremony was held which was formally inaugurated by Secretary of DMCH Managing Society- Sh Prem Kumar Gupta.

Dr Amarjit Kaur, Professor & Head of Transfusion Medicine extended warm welcome to the dignitaries and donors present on the occasion. In her message, she urged all healthy people to voluntarily come forward to donate blood for the children diagnosed with thalassemia. She advised that people getting married should take a simple blood test and ensure that both the partners are not carrying the Thalassemia trait.

In his message to the audience, Principal Dr Sandeep Puri said that DMCH has always been on the forefront to cure children suffering from thalassemia. He made a special mention of ID-NAT testing facility available in DMCH, which is considered as an international standard blood screening test. Transmission of infective diseases to transfusion recipients drastically gets reduced due to effective screening of donor blood through this new technique, said Dr Puri.

Dr Shruti Kakkar proposed a vote of thanks to those present on the occasion and acknowledged the contribution of various organizations and philanthrophists for promoting the cause of voluntary blood donation. She informed that Thalassemia Uunit at DMCH is presently catering to the need of 320 children, who are being given state-of- art treatment at this centre at highly subsidized charges. Out of 320 children, 40 are adults now and four Thalassemic major have got married this year The faculty and residents participated with great enthusiasm in donating the blood. For the past one week, students of College of Nursing have been regularly conducting role plays in various OPDs to raise awareness about Thalassemia.