MYSORE: International Thalassemia Day, which is observed on May 8, went unnoticed in Mysore with no public organisation organising any event to mark the occasion.

Described as an inherited disorder of the blood, Thalassemia leads to anaemia and in chronic cases results in lethargy in children with changes in facial bones, fractures and heart failure, if left untreated.

Vikram Hospital and Heart Care Centre in Mysore issued a press release on thalassemia in a bid to create public awareness about the disease and its treatment. "Single gene mutation leads to decreased or absence of synthesis of the globin chains of haemoglobin, resulting in beta thalassemia or alpha thalassemia. The imbalance in synthesis causes the red blood cells to be destroyed prematurely, causing haemoglobin levels to fall to less than 7 gms/dl (normal range is 11-16 gms/dl)."

More than two million people in India carry the beta thalassemia gene, the press statement added. Thalassemia is treated with a two-pronged approach to correct anaemia by giving packed cell transfusions, which are required every three to four weeks. "This ensures normal growth and development of the child." Along with transfusions, it is necessary to give chelating agents, which mop up the extra iron that gets deposited in the internal organs. "If chelation is not concurrently carried out, chronic iron deposition called transfusion haemosiderosis can result in cirrhosis, cardiac failure, diabetes, delayed growth and puberty, osteoporosis and even death," the press statement cautioned.

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