Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

The death rate from thalassemia reduced 5 times in Azerbaijan over the past decade.

Azerbaijan’s Health Ministry Gulmirza Poladov announced about it at an annual ministerial meeting on December 26.

He said that more than 2,500 patients have been receiving medical treatment at the Center for Thalassemia, which was built upon the initiative of President of Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva.

“The center has the latest diagnostic, treatment, and support units, available space and qualified personnel for the treatment of patients,” Poladov noted.

Since its establishment in 2007, the Thalassemia Center in Baku has offered all conditions both scientific and practical for studying thalassemia. Moreover, centers of hemophilia and thalassemia have been already established in Shirvan and Ganja regions. Similar centers are expected to be established in Guba, Lankaran and Mingachevir regions.

Some 8 percent of Azerbaijanis are the carriers of thalassemia gene. The disease is an inherited blood disorder that causes the body to make fewer healthy red blood cells and less hemoglobin than normal.

President Ilham Aliyev approved the state program for the fight against thalassemia for 2015 - 2020 years, Poladov said, noting that the program aims to strengthen measures to prevent thalassemia, increase the decease awareness among the population and improve medical care to patients suffering from thalassemia.

“Today we are proud to say that Azerbaijan has managed to achieve the implementation of radical treatment of thalassemia - a bone marrow transplant - in accordance with clinical protocols. Some 25 children have already undergone BM transplantation in Azerbaijan," Poladov emphasized.

Although, thalassaemia is passed from parents to children, parents can be just the gene carriers and may have no substantial variations in their health. Thus, medical checkup of both parents on this gene should be done before impregnation.

Children with thalassemia need blood transfusions 1-2 times in a month. Without the appropriate treatment, such children can live no longer than 10 years.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz