KARACHI: An estimated 100,000 children in Pakistan are currently living with thalassaemia, and their survival depends on the availability of nearly 1.8 million bottles of blood every year, said a medical expert at a seminar held on Wednesday.
Dr Saqib Ansari, the chief executive officer of Children Hospital and president of Umair Sana Foundation, also emphasised the need for awareness and premarital screening to prevent the disease’s incidence.
The event, organised by Karachi University’s Department of Microbiology, brought together healthcare professionals, faculty members and students to highlight the urgent need for preventive measures against thalassaemia, a hereditary blood disorder that affects thousands of families across Pakistan.
Dr Ansari said that approximately 100,000 children in Pakistan were currently living with thalassaemia, and their survival depends on the availability of nearly 1.8m bottles of blood every year.
“Between 5,000 and 10,000 children are born annually with the blood disorder in the country, while an estimated 10 million individuals in the country are thalassaemia minor (carriers),” he told the audience.
These figures, he stressed, pointed to the scale of the challenge and the urgent need for nationwide awareness and preventive action.
Dr Ansari emphasised that families with a thalassemia patient must ensure that all close relatives — particularly blood relations such as uncles, aunts, and cousins — undergo thalassaemia screening.
This step, he pointed out, was essential to safeguard future generations from inheriting the disease.
He declared premarital thalassaemia screening indispensable, warning that if two thalassaemia minor individuals marry, the likelihood of giving birth to a child with thalassaemia major increases significantly.
“We must adopt pre-marital screening as a standard practice in society,” he said, while describing the measure as one of the most effective measures to prevent the life-threatening hereditary condition.
In his remarks, acting KU Vice Chancellor Prof Muhammad Tufail Jokhio highlighted the importance of promoting awareness about the disease, stating that organising blood screening and public awareness programmes were crucial for disease prevention.
He added that donating blood was a noble humanitarian service that not only saved precious lives but also had proven positive health effects for donors, according to scientific research.
Earlier, the chairman of department of microbiology, Prof Dr Abdul Wahab, delivered the welcome address.
He elaborated on the objectives of the seminar and the plantation campaign, highlighting the department’s commitment to combining academic activities with social responsibilities.
Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026
