Ziqitza - World Thalassemia Day
                     Ziqitza - World Thalassemia Day
World Thalassemia Day is celebrated every year on the 
8th of May to commemorate the Thalassemia victims and 
to encourage all those around the world who struggle to 
live their lives with the disease.
 
Ziqitza Healthcare explains that Thalassemias are blood 
disorders that are largely inherited and are characterised 
by decreased production of haemoglobin and lesser 
amount of normal blood cells. People who suffer from 
thalassemia have at least one parent as the carrier of the 
disease.
 
Ziqitza further explains that symptoms of thalassemia 
vary from none to severe and depend on the type of the 
disease. The most common symptom is mild to severe 
anaemia which can result in pale and tired skin. 
ZHL Rajasthan elaborates that thalassemia could lead to bone 
problems, cause yellowish skin, enlarged spleen and urine which 
is dark in colour. Children suffering from thalassemia could 
experience a slow growth rate.
Thalassemias are majorly genetic disorders which are inherited 
from parents. Ziqitza Healthcare ltd points out that there are 
two types of thalassemias - alpha thalassemia and beta 
thalassemia. The severity of these two types of thalassemia is 
characterised by the missing number of four genes for alpha 
goblin or two genes of the beta goblin. Ziqitza Rajasthan 
stresses on the diagnosis of thalassemia and states that the 
diagnosis for thalassemia typically involves blood tests such as 
special haemoglobin tests, complete blood count, and genetic 
tests to identify genetic disorders. These days prenatal testing is 
conducted to identify or diagnose thalassemia in children before 
birth.
World Thalassemia Day is celebrated every year to spread awareness 
about this disease. This year's theme for the World Thalassemia Day 
is, ‘Be Aware. Share. Care’. Ziqitza Limited believes that there are 
still a lot of unknowns about the disease and the fight against any 
disease, not just thalassemia, can only be won through awareness 
and knowledge. This year’s theme is an open invitation and call to 
action for everyone to come forward and promote awareness about 
this genetic blood disorder. 
There are various forms of thalassemia and each type 
has its subtypes. Cases of alpha thalassemia are 
typically found in people who reside in the Middle 
East, Southeast Asia, China, and also in those with 
African descent. Whereas, beta thalassemia occurs 
largely in people from Mediterranean origin. However, 
these types are not restricted to just these 
geographies. The alpha thalassemia and beta 
thalassemia can be categorised into two forms: 
Thalassemia major and Thalassemia Minor.  
Ziqitza Limited Rajasthan, clarifies that, in order for 
you to develop thalassemia major, you must inherit the 
gene defect from both parents. And you can inherit 
thalassemia minor, if only one parent has the gene 
defect. 
Treatments for thalassemia depend on the type and 
severity of the disease. People who suffer from severe 
cases of thalassemia undergo treatments such as 
regular blood transfusions, iron chelation and folic acid. 
Iron chelation is usually conducted using deferoxamine, 
deferasirox or deferiprone. People suffering from 
thalassemia can be seen undergoing a bone marrow 
transplant for treatment. But these treatments also 
have side effects. Regular blood transfusion could lead 
to iron overload and result in heart or liver disease, 
osteoporosis and infections. Thalassemia also causes 
enlargement of spleen in many cases, and in such a 
scenario, the spleen needs to be surgically removed.
Ziqitza Health care limited states that during the first 
nation-wide lockdown owing to the outbreak of the 
coronavirus pandemic, patients suffering from thalassemia 
witnessed a tragic and harrowing time. The restrictions 
across the country caused life-threatening situations for 
thalassemia patients due to shortage of blood supply and 
closure of blood banks. Due to zero activity, no blood 
donation camps were organised, voluntary blood donations 
were discouraged due to the fear of contracting the 
coronavirus, and the covid vaccination guidelines prevented 
vaccinated people from donating blood before two weeks 
post vaccination. The situation had become really 
dangerous for patients suffering from thalassemia. Many of 
the thalassemia patients were infected by COVID-19 which 
further affected their immunity adversely. 
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in order 
to meet a country’s basic blood needs, a minimum one 
percent of the country’s population should donate blood. 
India must bolster its efforts in ensuring availability of safe 
blood for thalassemia patients. Blood donation in India 
must be centralised and effective mechanisms should be 
formulated to ensure timely access to safe blood for those 
in need. Access to safe blood is a basic right of every citizen 
and an essential component of healthcare. All necessary 
steps must be taken and efforts must be strengthened to 
ensure that those in need of safe blood, has easy and quick 
access to it.