Two more children have traveled abroad to undergo a government-sponsored bone marrow transplants.
The government has so far sponsored bone marrow transplants for three children. The first child to be sponsored for a bone marrow transplant, a nine-year-old girl, traveled abroad on December 14.
The Ministry of Health has stated that 40 children are currently included in the list of thalassemia patients eligible for bone marrow transplants, having received a donor from within their families. Among them, five children on the list are prepared to travel abroad for the procedure.
The list is open for other children who wish to undergo bone marrow transplants. They can submit their request to the Thalassemia Centre and the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) will arrange for the necessary tests to be conducted. The government aims to sponsor a set number of eligible thalassemia patients for overseas transplant procedures every year.
The first batch of children are being sent to a prominent hospital in India. The hospital was chosen after determining that it had the best team of doctors. The children are sent abroad after a team from the hospital arrives in the Maldives to conduct tests and check whether they are healthy enough to leave.
There are 943 registered thalassemia patients in the Maldives, with 655 of them currently alive. Thalassemia patients require ongoing treatment to reduce their iron levels, and the sole permanent solution is a bone marrow transplant.