The Government has announced that it had made arrangements to provide cross-matching services to Thalassemia patients undergoing bone marrow transplant surgeries.
The announcement was made by Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Khaleel at the special ceremony held to mark Thalassemia Day.
Minister Khaleel said that procedures to ensure that donor bone marrow matches the patient were difficult and tiresome. He noted that the donor along with the patient and their caretakers must go abroad for these tests.
He said that parents were sacrificing their time and money to have the tests done abroad. The Minister announced that as per President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's directive, these tests can now be done in the Maldives.
The Minister outlined that the first round of testing was carried out on the 9th of March and that 13 patients were tested in the initial round.
He further said that the second round of testing would be carried out either this month or the next. The Minister also spoke about the President's vision to develop a hospital dedicated to Thalassemia patients. The Minister said that this hospital would be a regional powerhouse and patients could have bone marrow transplant surgeries at the hospital.
