Thalassemia is a very common blood disorder in Bangladesh. It is caused by a genetic mutation that results in defective hemoglobin production. The disease manifests as severe anemia in early childhood, usually between 1-3 years of age. The typical symptoms are pallor, jaundice, frequent infections, poor appetite, irritability, poor growth, and abdominal distension.
Donate for Thalassemia Treatment
The treatment of thalassemia is regular blood transfusion at 2-4 week intervals to correct the anemia. A safe and sustainable supply of blood is needed to cater the thalassemia patients. Ideally, the patients need leuko-reduced (free of white blood cells) red blood cell. Alternatively, a bedside leukoreduction filter is used to reduce the white cells from blood. A significant number of patients contract transfusion-transmitted infection such as Hepatitis B and C.
Chronic blood transfusion results in toxic iron accumulation in vital organs of the patient such as liver, heart, and pancreas. The iron overload gives rise to further complications such as heart failure, liver cirrhosis, diabetes, and growth retardation. Consequently, the patients have to take iron reducing medications throughout their lives to mitigate the iron toxicity. The currently available medications are desferrioxamine, deferiprone, and deferasirox. Desferrioxamine is available only in injectable form and must be taken subcutaneously with a portable infusion pump over 8-12 hours for 5 days/week.
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