Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Tuesday that law on pre-marriage thalassemia test will soon be introduced in the province.
Speaking as chief guest at a seminar organized by the Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Institute, Thalassemia Institute of Pakistan, Fatima Jinnah Medical University Lahore, Medical Research Council (UK) and University of Leeds on latest data on Thalassemia, the minister said an institute is being set up to conduct research on genetic diseases.
The health minister said: “I congratulate the organizers for holding a very important event on thalassemia awareness. The team of Dr Hussain Jaffery and Yasmin Ihsan deserve appreciation for conducting 7,000 pre-marriage thalassemia tests and now 85 percent of Punjab population knows about thalassemia.”
“An awareness booklet has been prepared on the disease with joint efforts of Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Institute and University of Leeds (UK). In the past, people used to distance themselves from thalassemia patients. Thalassemia is genetic disease that can be treated. Punjab is setting up an institute to conduct research on genetic diseases.” She further added
