MARDAN: Parents of children suffering from thalassaemia are compelled to take them to Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar for treatment owing to unavailability of separate ward or thalassaemia centre in the government hospitals of Mardan district.

According to a survey of different hospitals here, there is no proper ward or centre for treatment of thalassaemia patients in the Mardan Medical Complex, district headquarters hospital and other health facilities located in various parts of the city.

However, according to data collected from these health facilities the total registered number of thalassaemia patients in Mardan was 1,213 who were forced to visit other cities for blood transfusion and treatment.

The absence of separate ward or centre for thalassaemia patients has been causing increase in the number of such patients.

Khaista Gul, a resident of Kaskoonu locality and father of a five-year-old thalassaemia patient, told Dawn that he had been suffering a lot while frequently visiting Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore for the treatment of his child. He lamented that this had been affecting him financially and physically.

Mohammad Jameel whose daughter was also suffering from thalassaemia from last 10 years said that the government and NGOs had been carrying out campaigns against polio, HIV/Aids and other diseases on regular basis, but there was no such initiative for thalassaemia patients.

He urged the relevant officials of government and private organisations to launch awareness campaigns and intensify efforts for establishing separate thalassaemia wards and centres in government hospitals in the district.

Dr Rohail Hayat of Mardan Medical Complex Hospital said that thalassaemia was a genetic disease caused due to hereditary disorder that affected a person’s ability to produce haemoglobin. He said that a thalassaemia patient needed blood transfusion every fortnight.

He said that children with thalassaemia frequently contracted infections due to which they remained weak and could not walk properly.

When contacted, new district health officer, Mardan, Dr Mohammad Tahir Khan confirmed that there was no separate ward or centre for thalassaemia patients in hospitals of Mardan district. He, however, said that he would make efforts in coming days to establish separate units for thalassaemia patients in the hospitals here.

Dr Niaz Mohammad, who had established a private centre with the name of Mardan Thalassaemia Foundation, said that he had registered 100 thalassaemia patients so far in his foundation and blood was transfused to them once a week.