KARACHI:Haemophilia Welfare Society Karachi (HWSK) has established Pakistan’s first Haemophilia Center in Karachi.
Chief Executive Officer, Indus Hospital Karachi, Dr Abdul Bari Khan, Director Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority Dr Dur-e-Naz, President HWSK Raheel Ahmed, a patient himself and other guests, cut the ribbon to inaugurate the center on Thursday evening.
Indus Hospital Haematologist Dr Saba Jamal, Hussaini Blood Bank Chief Executive Officer Asad Ali, Dr Munira Burhani, Dr Sarfraz Jafri, Fatimid Foundation Medical Director Haematologist Dr Shabneez Hossain, General Secretary HWSK Fakhar Alam Zaidi, Treasurer Shahid Dawood, Anisur Rehman, Atiq-ur-Rehman and people from different walks of life and patients along with a large number of parents were present on the occasion.
The Haemophilia Welfare Society is the only organization that has been formed by persons afflicted with the disease and their parents and been serving patients for the past 20 years.
Talking to media, CEO, Indus Hospital, Dr Abdul Bari Khan, said that the management of Haemophilia Center deserved appreciation for setting up this centre to save the lives of patients suffering from this deadly disease. “Although there is no government-run institution for haemophilia patients in Pakistan, the center, set up by the Haemophilia Welfare Society Karachi, will provide free treatment to patients suffering from the disease not only in Karachi but also across the province.” Dr Bari also assured his all-out support from the hospital.
Founding member and President of the Haemophilia Welfare Society, Raheel Ahmed, said that the number of registered haemophilia patients in Pakistan is about 22,000 but no government hospital had been set up in the country for the treatment of the disease. The center has registered 735 patients in Sindh for free treatment so far.
He said that the treatment of haemophilia is very expensive and the injections (dry factors) used in this disease are not manufactured in Pakistan. He urged the government for provision of treatment for haemophilia patients at the government level like other diseases.
He said that the cost of treatment of a patient suffering from this disease is more than Rs 0.2 million a month which is born by the institution. There are 6,000 patients in Sindh alone.
Director, Sindh Blood Transfusion Authority, Dr Dur-e-Naz, Dire, said that the Sindh Health Department was working on a project to provide facilities to haemophilia patients.
Certificates of appreciation and shields were also distributed among the guests and the best-performing team members on the occasion.