Materia Medica Malaysiana

More than RM40m allocation for thalassaemia registry and treatment

PUTRAJAYA: More than RM40mil will be allocated to provide treatment and start a registry for thalassaemia patients in the country, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said.
He said out of this amount, RM19.9mil would be provided to purchase equipment and other aids as a one-off allocation, adding that this was a Cabinet decision after its meeting on Wednesday.
"We will also start a census to register all patients in the country beginning with secondary school students this year.
"We will also prepare the logistics to allow couples to test for thalassaemia prior to getting married," he told reporters at the ministry on Thursday.
There was currently no proper registry of the number of thalassaemia patients, Dr Chua said.
He said they estimated that between 150 and 350 babies are born with thalassaemia each year, who need blood transfusions to treat this genetic disorder.
He said aid would be distributed beginning in the Federal Territory and Kuala Lumpur and would be expanded to the northern, southern and eastern states, adding that Sabah was included as it has the highest number of thalassaemia patients in the country.