The 5th National Health Mission sponsored Capacity Building Workshop on “Haemoglobinopathy and Haemophilia” is being organized from 10th to 13th March at the Department of Hematology, PGI Chandigarh. More than 40 specialist doctors (pathologists, paediatricians, gynaecologists, transfusion medicine specialists and district nodal officers) from various districts of Haryana are participating in this workshop who are being given intensive training in laboratory diagnosis and treatment of serious blood diseases like thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia, haemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The participating doctors are from major cities of Haryana including Rohtak, Gurgaon, Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Hisar, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Jind, Sirsa, Panipat and Karnala.
The training included detailed lectures by experts from the departments of Hematology, Pediatrics and Transfusion Medicine, discussion on real cases, and visits to hospital departments/areas involved in the care of such patients. These genetic disorders are common in many communities in India, and their timely and correct diagnosis can not only prevent the birth of affected children but also improve the quality of life of individuals suffering from the disease and prevent potential complications.
Care of these diseases, which was previously neglected, has now been marked as a priority by the National Health Mission (N.H.M.), as timely interventions can provide more economical and effective prevention than expensive curative measures.
On the occasion, Dr. Cherry Gupta, Joint Director, Haryana State Blood Transfusion Council, reiterated the State Government's commitment to strengthen the healthcare delivery system for serious genetic disorders. He informed that the government is working in this direction in collaboration with advanced medical centres by educating health professionals and the general public, ensuring screening of pregnant women and target populations, setting up day care centres as well as providing advanced facilities such as antenatal diagnosis and stem cell transplantation.
Dr. Reena Das, Professor & Head, Department of Hematology, PGIMER, said that advanced medical centres such as PGIMER have been taking care of referred patients for the last three and a half decades, but the high burden of these diseases indicates that more centres are needed. In this context, collaborating with the National Health Mission to train doctors from Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Union Territory Chandigarh and now Haryana in the fifth edition is an encouraging step, which will enable patients to get services without travelling long distances.