Centre releases Rs 22.20 crore to designated CoEs for treatment of 134 patients suffering from rare diseases

New Delhi: The Union Health ministry has released Rs 22.20 crore for 134 patients undergoing treatment for rare diseases at eight designated hospitals since the guidelines for providing financial aid to such patients were issued last August. On May 19, the ministry increased the financial support from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for patients belonging to all categories of rare diseases, and on August 11 issued guidelines to grant financial aid to such patients under the National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021. According to officials, the number of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) designated for treating those with rare diseases like Gaucher Disease, Tyrosinemia, Severe Combined Immunodeficiency and others have also been increased from eight to eleven. The 11 CoEs are AIIMS, New Delhi, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences, King Edward Medical Hospital, Mumbai, Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, Centre for Human Genetics with Indira Gandhi Hospital, Bengaluru, AIIMS Jodhpur.