Over 5K participate in awareness drive against Thalassemia

The campaign was organised by Medical Bank. The signatories included people from all walks of life. Leaflets were distributed as a part of the campaign. Workshops and seminars were held on Thalassemia to celebrate the World Thalassemia Day.

There are 40,000 Thalassemia patients in Bengal while the number of carriers will be over one lakh. There is no treatment for the disease and awareness is very important. The state government has over and again requested young people to get their blood tested before marriage to control spread of the disease. It is a well-known fact that Amitabh Bachchan is a Thalassemia carrier, while his spouse Jaya is not a carrier. Hence, none of their children Abhishek and Sweta are suffering from the disease. D Ashis, secretary of Medical Bank, said awareness to check the spread of the disease is important as the disease is fast growing. Thalassemia patients need blood and in summer when there is a crisis of blood or if they have negative blood group the problem is doubled.

On the occasion, CM Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "Today is World Thalassaemia Day. My best wishes to all those fighting the disease: patients, doctors and caregivers."