BTF requests Dr. Muhammad Yunus to be the voice for Thalassemia in Bangladesh

Noble laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus has expressed his keen interest in alleviating the sufferings of thalassemia in Bangladesh. The remark was made in a meeting with the delegates of Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation (BTF) held on 21 July, 2009 at his office, Grameen Bank, Dhaka. There was an elaborate discussion on thalassemia. Dr. Md. Abdur Rahim, Secretary General, BTF briefly discussed the cause and suffering of the disease, treatment, cure and preventive measures. He also overviewed the thalassemia situation in Bangladesh. He mentioned that 7% of the  Bangladeshi population are thalassemia carriers which equals more than 10 million people and each year 7000 new babies born with thalassemia. Dr. Yunus was alarmed by the prevalence of the disease and expressed his deep concern about the lifelong suffering and expensive treatment of the disease.

Dr. Yunus was interested in bone marrow transplantation for the cure of thalassemia. Prof. Manzur Morshed, Professor of Clinical Hematology at BSMMU and Consultant Hematologist at BTF, who is an expert in bone marrow transplantation shared his experience in this regard. He mentioned it as the only cure of thalassemia till date however as the conventional treatment promises a good quality of life with normal lifespan, it not routinely recommended. He told there is no bone marrow transplantation facility in Bangladesh which could offer cure to many hematological malignancies as well as thalassemia. He also told that it requires a multidisciplinary team of experts and firm commitment from the hospital. He identified skilled human resource as the main obstacle of starting a bone marrow transplantation center and stretched on manpower development for this very specialized procedure.

Dr. Masooma Rahman, Executive Member of BTF and Dr. Murad Sultan, Advisor to BTF highlighted the current activities of Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation and its services delivered through ASHA - Thalassemia Centre. They informed that ASHA – Thalassemia Center is a comprehensive thalassemia facility which serves 482 thalassemia patients. The center collects blood and provides daycare blood transfusion, medicines, laboratory tests and medical consultation. They also mentioned the need of a full fledge blood bank and laboratory at the center. Dr. Sultan invited Dr. Yunus to visit the center which he accepted gladly. 

The team told Dr. Yunus that the only way to combat thalassemia is through prevention. The premarital blood testing and prohibiting carrier-carrier marriage will greatly reduce the incident of the disease. They pointed that public awareness on the disease is very low. They requested Dr. Yunus to be the voice for thalassemia to raise greater awareness on the issue. Dr. Yunus showed great interest in possibility of establishing screening facility in rural areas through Grameen organizations.

Md. Imamus Sultan, Managing Director and Dr. Md. Baquirul Islam Khan, Program Manager of Grameen Kalyan were also present in the meeting. The delegates thanked Dr. Yunus for inviting BTF to discuss on this very important health issue. Dr. Yunus in his closing remark said he realized from the meeting that thalassemia is a real problem in the country and he will put his efforts to address it.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus
Dr. Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker and economist. He developed the concept of microcredit and the founder of Grameen Bank. Dr. Yunus and the bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below."

Visit to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus

Grameen Kalyan
Grameen Kalyan is a peer of Grameen organizations set up in 1996 as a not-for-profit company. Its primary goal is to provide a series of improvement and cost effective welfare and healthcare services to Grameen Bank (GB) members, employees & other villagers living in the territory and also support other Grameen peer companies dedicated to poverty alleviation.

Visit to learn more: http://www.grameenkalyan.org/