Hyderabad: Aid reduced for Thalassemia care

Hyderabad: Thalassemia patients and their parents complain that the government has reduced the amount allowed to be claimed by them under Aarogyasri scheme. They are now demanding that the old benefits be revived.

Addressing the media, clinical psychologist Dr Azra Fatima, who is a thalassemia major patient, said when the scheme was introduced, it gave new hope to patients and parents, but the recently revised policy, has reduced the financial assistance to patients.

A patient incurs a minimum expense of Rs 10,000- 12,000 a month, which poor families find impossible. The new guidelines issued in February 2018 under the Aarogyasri Scheme have cut the financial support for Chelation Therapy for pati-ents suffering with thalass-emia major to just Rs 4,260. The previous policy allowed claims up to Rs 15,000.

Aleem Baig, joint secretary of the thalassemia and Sickle Cell Society, says that 2,500 patients with thalassemia have been identified in Telangana. He said a thalassemia patient needs to undergo investigations, take regular medicines, and get the vital blood transfusion. Due to the new guidelines, most of the families are unable to afford even medicines for the patients.

He said patients living in the districts have to travel to Hyderabad, usually once a month. If the government restores the earlier grant of Rs 15,000 to each patient, it will cost the exchequer only Rs 22 crore yearly.

Mohammed Ameen, whose child is a patient, said a child requires nearly Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month for treatment which includes investigations such as cardio scans and MRIs. Moreover, just the pump used for treatment costs Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000. Patie-nts also require calcium tabl-ets and iron controlling pills.