Average age of Maldivian Thalassemia children has gone up

Maldivian Thalassemia Society revealed today that subsequent to the changes brought to the treatment of Thalassemia, the average ages of children with this blood disorder has become higher.

At the initiation ceremony of the third conference of the Thalassemia Society, Chairperson of the Society, Fathimath Jeehan Saleem shared that her estimation on the life expectancy of children with Thalassemia disorder when she began working at the Thalassemia laboratory 30 years ago was a duration of 12 years.

At the time, the average age of children with the disorder was 7 years.

Jeehan highlighted that these past couple of years have brought significant improvements to this situation. While the oldest Thalassemia patient is 45 years old at present, the average age of Thalassemia children is currently 17.

“This is the result of advanced treatments. The effect of the efforts of the State and blood service managers,” Jeehan said.

However, she questioned whether this development was a sufficient mark for patients with the disorder. She remarked that despite the existence of patients who participate in various activities, marry in good health and start a family, these numbers are not high.

As Thalassemia is a disorder that often leads to other health problems in addition to blood transfusions, Jeehan stressed the importance of additional treatments that allow these patient to proceed without obstacles to their growth. She insisted that concerned parties must work harder and better than before.

“With the advancement of our services alongside our efforts and investments to generate people in good health conditions, we need to show these people why they should dream and persevere,” she said. She had also expressed gratitude to the State for their efforts to improve the treatment of thalassemia patients and prioritizing them in the state’s health agenda.

Where the population of surrounding regions are considered, Maldives is one of the [most generous] spenders on [the care] of Thalassemia children in the region, as stated by Jeehan. Maldivian Blood Services revealed that each child receives a monthly payment of MVR 10,000 from the government. This amounts to a total monthly figure of MVR 6.5 million when the payments to all 659 blood transfusion patients are summed.

Jeehan said that health workers must be people who enforce change, vitalize the lives of their patients and ensure the availability of quality treatment.

In the ceremony today, Public Health Secretary of the President’s Office, and former Health Minister, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim remarked that further care is required for genetic disorders such as Thalassemia. Following the research conducted within the country in 2020 that indicated that 30 percent of Maldivians are Beta Thalassemia Carriers, Nazim had expressed that the situation was concerning.

He recognized the disparity suffered by families due to Thalassemia and emphasized that further efforts need to be implemented into controlling the disorder. He had insisted that necessary awareness must be increased on Thalassemia as a public health issue and that screening processes must commence.

Nazim had acknowledged that this government prioritizes Thalassemia treatments and said that a bone marrow transplant system has been arranged under the government’s expense. He added that further efforts are being made to improve the treatments of the blood disorder.