The day-care centre for thalassemia at Capital Hospital. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 23: A day-care centre for thalassemia patients opened at Capital Hospital here today. This 12-bed facility is the first-of-its-kind in the state.

Blood transfusion, a process that thalassemia patients need to undergo on a regular basis, can be performed here.

Children suffering from thalassemia need regular transfusion of blood, or they get anaemic. While some need to go though this process every week, others have to do it every fortnight. There are more than 5,000 children suffering from the disease across the state.

Health minister Damodar Rout inaugurated the centre at the paediatric ward of Capital Hospital. It will cater to the needs of the entire state and the number of beds will be increased to 20 by the end of February. Such a centre will also be opened at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The Bhubaneswar facility is air-conditioned to minimise the discomfort of the patients.

Capital Hospital director S.C. Mallick said: “We will be the forerunner in having the facility because the SCB medical college even does not have a day-care centre. The children can come to us and have their transfusion throughout the day and if there is any complication, they can stay for a follow-up. A separate centre will also minimise infection.”

Parents of the thalassemia patients expressed happiness on the opening of the centre. “It is a good step by the state government,” said Fakir Charan Jena, father of 14-year-old thalassaemic kid, Prashant.

On the occasion, members of the Thalassaemia Parents’ Association, Odisha, came up with their demands and submitted a memorandum to the health minister. “Blood for transfusion for major thalassemia patients should be available free of cost as notified by the Centre in 2002. We have requested the minister to implement the same in Odisha,” said Jena, a member of the association.

The memorandum also demanded supply of a medicine, Asunra-400, which fights the deposition of toxic iron in the body of thalassaemia patients. The parents also called for free tests for such patients and wanted them declared physically challenged.

“The best treatment of thalassamia is the bone-marrow transplant surgery. But, Odisha does not have any facility for that. The health and family welfare department should start the surgery at SCB hospital as soon as possible,” said Chandravanu Kar, another member of the association.

The minister assured the parents to consider their demand for the supply of free blood and medicines to major thalassaemic patients.