Pregnant woman will be examined (symbolic picture)
Highlights
The facility has been started in some districts through an NGO. There are also plans to sign a contract with AIIMS regarding this. The government is running a sickle cell anemia eradication program.
State Bureau, Naiduniya, Bhopal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target to free the country from sickle cell anemia by the year 2047. In this direction, testing and treatment facilities are being increased in the state. To prevent the birth of a child suffering from sickle cell anemia, blood tests will be done in the womb itself. The National Health Mission has sought proposals from medical colleges for this. So far, government medical colleges of Indore, Jabalpur and Rewa have given proposals.
National Health Mission (NHM) is also preparing to sign a contract with AIIMS Bhopal for this. In this test, the baby’s blood sample is taken out in the first three months of pregnancy and tested. After the test, if the baby is found to be affected by a disease, then abortion will be done. Currently, with the help of an NGO, this facility has been started in some cases in some districts.
This disease is mainly found in tribals across the country including Madhya Pradesh. In this, the shape of the red blood cells that make up the blood changes, due to which the patient’s body does not produce blood and it becomes deficient. Due to lack of blood, he starts getting surrounded by other diseases as well. To eradicate this, marriages between the victims or carriers are being stopped in the state. Genetic cards have been made for this. Genetic counseling is also being done.
By matching the genetic cards of the boy and the girl, it becomes clear whether marriage is appropriate or not. In the year 2018, the identification of the disease was started by testing the blood of normal people in two districts of the state. So far, 63 lakh people have been tested, in which 21 thousand patients and one lakh 34 thousand carriers have been found. Due to the leading role of the state, the Prime Minister started the eradication of this disease from Madhya Pradesh.