Thalassemia patients forced to flee Kerala, claims council

Thalassemia patients in Kerala are reportedly being forced to leave the State because of the persisting shortage of leukocyte filter sets and iron chelation drugs in government medical college hospitals here for over a year, functionaries of the Kerala Blood Patients’ Protection Council have claimed.

Kareem Karassery, president of the council, says that those who earlier sought treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, and the patients in Kannur and Kasaragod districts are going to Tamil Nadu and Mangaluru in Karnataka, respectively.

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder caused by the body’s inability to produce enough haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and carbon dioxide to the lungs. Regular blood transfusion and iron chelation therapy are among the treatments available. Leukocyte filter sets are used to prevent adverse reactions in the body, and iron chelation therapy is used to stop iron overload after a blood transfusion.

Mr. Karassery says that some hospitals in Chennai are ensuring regular supply of leukocyte filter sets and iron chelation drugs following instructions from Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. Similarly, a few hospitals in Mangaluru are also providing them for free. He alleges that though the council functionaries and patients had given memorandums to the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Health Minister Veena George, they were ignored.