Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today highlighted the importance of preventive measures to address the huge burden of genetic diseases like thalassemia and sickle cell anemia in the country.

He wanted the states to undertake mass screening of the children for early identification and management of genetic disorders.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Research Laboratory, Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory, and 2nd Blood Transfusion Unit at the Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Society (TSCS) in Hyderabad, the Vice President urged the private sector and NGOs to complement the government’s efforts in combating genetic diseases.

Recognising that the available treatment options for these genetic conditions– bone marrow transplantation or regular blood transfusion – are cost-intensive and distressing to the child, Naidu called for a comprehensive approach to address the health challenge of Thalassemia and sickle cell anemia.

Noting that around 10000-15000 babies were born every year with Thalassemia in India, he said the lack of awareness of these genetic diseases was a major impediment to their prevention and early diagnosis. Therefore, he urged all stakeholders – doctors, teachers, public figures, community leaders, and media – to spread awareness of Thalassemia and sickle cell disease.

Naidu wanted the private sector to set up more diagnosis and treatment facilities, especially in tier two and three cities and rural areas to make healthcare accessible to all.

Describing gene disorders as a major health concern in the country, the Vice President said that they imposed a heavy economic and emotional burden on the affected families. He said that early detection of genetic disorders would help in counseling the patients, thus avoiding the marriage of two individuals who were silent carriers of defective genes which might lead to serious genetic abnormalities in their children.

Noting that children affected with Thalassemia needed regular blood transfusions throughout their life, he exhorted the youth to come forward and donate blood for the needy. He also appreciated the Union Health Ministry for coming up with detailed guidelines for the prevention and management of Thalassemia, Sickle cell anemia, and other variant anemia.

Observing that the country has seen considerable improvement in various health indices since independence, the Vice President said that still there were challenges in ensuring quality and affordable healthcare for all. Stressing the need to address the shortage of trained human resources in healthcare on a war footing, he suggested making rural service mandatory for young doctors before getting admission to PG courses. “Scaling up e-Health initiatives in rural areas using digital tools is another cost-effective method for making healthcare accessible to all,” he added.