Knowledge Hub Inaugurated at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal

• 31 May 2023

Why In News?

On May 30, 2023, Madhya Pradesh's Medical Education Minister Vishwas Kailash Sarang and Health Minister Dr. Prabhuram Chaudhary inaugurated the Knowledge Hub for capacity building for control and prevention of beta thalassemia and hemoglobinopathy at Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal.

key points

• Medical Education Minister Vishwas Kailash Sarang said that the knowledge hub would help in identification, treatment and prevention of various blood disorders including beta thalassemia.
• Minister Sarang informed that a knowledge hub has been set up at Gandhi Medical College in collaboration with Eco India under State Hemoglobinopathy Mission of National Health Mission. With this, training sessions have been started for the initial group of 150 doctors in 50 districts of the state in the capacity enhancement program of doctors focused on beta thalassemia and hemoglobinopathy.
• He said that the inclusion of medical as well as engineering in medical education would help doctors from remote areas in the treatment of serious diseases. It will also enhance the skill of the clinicians in screening, early diagnosis, treatment and overall genetic blood disorders.
• Health Minister Dr. Chaudhary said that in the mission to eradicate sickle cell, a system of screening, referral and management of people suffering from sickle cell anemia, thalassemia and other hemoglobinopathies disorders has been established. In the first phase of the mission, a pilot project is being run in two tribal-dominated districts of the state, Jhabua and Alirajpur.
• Significantly, beta thalassemia is a serious genetic blood-borne disease, also known as porter anemia. Due to this, the access of oxygen to the cells of the body decreases. Young children are most at risk of this.
• It originates from an abnormality in human genes. If either of the parents of the newborn is suffering from thalassemia, then there is a 25 percent chance of the baby also having this disease. If both parents are affected by the disease, then the child has a 50 percent chance of having it. With timely diagnosis and treatment, the patient can be saved.