Need for a universal thalassemia screening programme in India? A public health perspective

Thalassemia is one of the significant public health concerns as the carrier rate and disease numbers are increasing worldwide. The increase in number is because of consanguineous marriage which has a deep-rooted norm among many people globally. Besides various clinical and psychological problems associated with thalassemia, a lifelong treatment aspect makes it much more difficult for a person or family to sustain with thalassemia or thalassemia-affected children. Though the government has come up with a screening programme for thalassemia, given the fact that it is optional, people tend to ignore it. Examples from Pakistan and Iran remind us to have a mandatory prenatal screening programme which is very much cost-effective. With a highly recommended notion, we suggest that it should be universal to have an antenatal screening programme to avert thalassemia-related deaths.