A helping hand for haemophiliacs

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu may have been a bit late in jumping on the bandwagon, but the government has been providing anti-haemophilia factors to patients diagnosed with the bleeding disorder for the past few years. While private practitioners prescribe these factors for those who can afford them, the lower-middle income groups are dependent on the public health scheme. “For the last three years, high purity clotting factors have been given to those diagnosed with the condition through 12 medical colleges across the state,” said a senior official with the Department of Health.Sources say the procurement and distribution of drugs is done through the Directorate of Medical Education (DME), Tamil Nadu Medical Supplies Corporation (TNMSC) and all major teaching hospitals in the state. Earlier, most people with haemophilia were dependent on free supplies through the Haemophilia Society.While highly purified factor VIII and IX concentrates are the safest and purest treatment option, there is a prevalent pathogen safety issue in India. When a person’s blood is infected with pathogens, extraction of clotting factors can be a risk.Despite the treatment options available for people with clotting disorders awareness remains woefully low, as most stakeholders agree. “It has gotten better to a small extent but awareness levels about the disorder and the treatment options available are very low,” says Dr Barathwaj, a specialist from Apollo Hospitals.The national figures are slightly more depressing as the Haemophilia Federation of India sets the number of people undergoing hospital care at 12,500. Considering that there are an estimated 120,000 haemophilia-affected people in the country, this shows what a large distance there is to cover. Perhaps it is ideal that this year’s World Haemophilia Day theme is ‘Bridging the Gap’. From awareness to treatment, there is a huge gap that needs to be bridged, especially in India.