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       ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Health on Monday discussed a bill which would make it mandatory for grooms to get tested for thalassaemia before marriage.

       Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal agreed that such a legislation was necessary to control the disease which was putting burden on the health system.

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       The bill titled ‘The Islamabad Capital Territory Compulsory Thalassaemia Screening Bill 2025’ was moved by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) legislator Sharmila Sahiba Faruqui Hashaam.

       Mustafa Kamal said there was a need to have such legislation in the federal capital.

       “My ministry will fully support the bill,” he said, adding that “it should be included in the law that every groom should be tested for thalassaemia and if the groom is declared positive, the bride should also get tested. We can only save our children from thalassaemia through this legislation,” he said.

       The committee chairman, Mahesh Kumar Malani, who also belongs to PPP, directed that the bill draft be further tuned up and submitted with the law ministry and the standing committee before the next meeting.

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       It is pertinent to mention here that there are three types of thalassaemia - minor, major and intermedia. A person with thalassaemia major suffers from the disease throughout his life while a patient with thalassaemia intermedia can get thalassaemia major any time. However, a person having thalassaemia minor leads a normal life but caries the virus and can transmit it to his offspring.

       Due to the disease, the body stops making red blood cells due to which blood is transfused intto the patients.

       The only cure is ‘bone marrow transplant’ which is not only very expensive but also requires a donor. The disease can be detected with a simple blood test.

       A patient has to take medicines worth thousands of rupees and blood once and sometimes twice a month.

       Doctors protest against Pims ED

       The standing committee was informed that as many as 35 doctors had approached the committee and lodged a complaint against the executive director of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims). Doctors had earlier complained to the health secretary, upon which, an inquiry was held but the doctors did not agree with it.

       The health secretary said that he had already informed the doctors not to visit the ministry as he was busy, but they still did. Therefore, he said a show-cause notice will be issued to doctors over it.

       Expressing his annoyance, the health secretary said the doctors had been informed that their meeting could not be arranged but they still left their duty and reached the ministry.

       Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2025