IAF Spreads Awareness on Thalassemia

Observed at all station of SWAC

World Thalassemia Day on 08 May 2019 was observed by all the stations of South Western Air Command on Wednesday. The programme started by educating the personnel and their family about Thalassemia and starting screening tests for early detection of the disease.

Thalassemia is a hereditary blood disorder that can cause severe anemia, due to shortened life span of Red Blood Cells. If untreated it causes fatigability, stunted growth, heart failure and early death. It is amenable to treatment with normal life for a thalassemia patient, provided it is detected early and managed well. Bone marrow transplant can even cure this disease. Thalassemia can be suspected by performing a simple screening test of blood hemoglobin level, which can detect anemia.

The future generations can be prevented from having this dreadful disease, if the prospective parents undergo genetic testing. If both parents have defective gene pair, then they should not conceive. In case one of the parent has a disease or both parents have only one of their paired genes defective, then the genetic testing of the amniotic fluid can tell if the developing baby is carrying the defective gene. If tested before 20 weeks of pregnancy, then the pregnancy can be medically terminated.