More Help for Thalassemia Paients in Egypt - by Frances Garnett

In Egypt, back in May, the Egyptian National Health Insurance Organization (NHIO) and the Egyptian Thalassemia Association (ETA) held a press conference to announce their plans of raising the age limit of coverage for Thalassemia sufferers from 10 to 18. Thalassemia is a genetic disorder that significantly reduces haemoglobin and leads to severe anaemia excessive iron content in the blood (due to excessive blood transfusions). If both parents carry the gene, then their child will be born with it. From as early as 6 months they would have blood transfusions every 3-4 weeks, though those blood cells will eventually break down and leave iron binding to vital organs, which can be fatal. The treatments this insurance covers are diagnosis, blood transfusions, and providing deferasirox, a drug that combats iron excesses on organs. NHIO made this decision because insurance is often the only way patients can continue their treatment in the face of very expensive cost, though there's still a huge need for donations to cover everyone. Egypt especially has a lot of Thalassemia sufferers (over 7.65 million, almost 9% of the population, and 1,000 kids born with it each year).

I think that this is a great thing, and even though it will raise the amount of money spent on these patients, it will also help them a lot. I wish other countries, the US, for example, would do these sorts of things more, to use a bit more funding to help out its people. Of course, additional sponsors are needed, but I'm still glad that they are taking a risk to help people in need.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/7/48/101161/Life--Style/Health/New-hope-for-Thalassemia-patients-in-Egypt.aspx