The government will set up a State Blood Cell for Haemophilia and Haemoglobinopathies. Haemophilia treatment centres will come up in all districts either in the district hospitals or government medical college hospitals (MCHs).
The government order on Wednesday also proposes to set up treatment centres in a few taluk hospitals too where there are more haemophilia patients. Thalassemia and sickle cell disease are among the other blood disorders covered by the project. All district hospitals will be provided with diagnostic facilities for blood disorders.
Technical committees will be set up with experts, stakeholders, and NGOs before procuring the costly anti-haemophilia factors (or blood factors, the absence of which causes the disease) from the market. Haemophilia prevents clotting of blood and the bleeding is managed by injecting the missing clotting factor into the patient.
Research projects
The mandate of the State Blood Cell would be to work on State, national and global research projects on blood disorders. The State Blood Cell committee members should meet at least twice a year to review the work on the research projects, should visit the treatment centres across the State once every quarter, and closely monitor the requirement of anti-haemophilia factors at all treatment centres.
The State-level steering committee for the cell will be chaired by the Minister for Health and Family Welfare with Principal Secretary, Health, as vice chairperson and project director of the Kerala State AIDS Control Society (KSACS) as member secretary. There will be 13 members, including senior State officials and doctors heading haemophilia treatment centres, blood banks, and one representative from the community.
Assessing products
The technical committee of the cell will be headed by the State Mission Director, National Health Mission, that will evaluate all products available in the market and select products based on needs of the patients.
Published - June 12, 2020 12:14 am IST
