Thalasemia awareness programme at Brainware Univerity

The outcry of a family devasted because of Thalassemia, the father begging for blood for his new-born baby – a scene from the street play performed by the students of Brainware University is still too poignant in the minds of the audience. The play is inspired by the real-life incidents occurring on a daily basis across the country. 

India has the largest number of children with Thalassemia major in the world. About 10,000 to 15,000 babies with Thalassemia major are born every year as per a report by the National Health Mission. 

Guest speakers on Thalassemia awareness 

The Department of Allied Health Sciences of the university is constantly engaged in creating awareness on Thalassemia. On the occasion of World Thalassemia Day, the department organised an one-day long ‘Thalassemia Awareness Programme’. 

Dr. A.N. Syamsundara Kiran, Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Kalyani and Dr. Rajesh Sikdar, Thalassemia Center in-charge, Barasat Government Medical College were the guest speakers at the event. 

In his speech, Dr. Kiran enlightened the students about the ‘Pathophysiology and the Clinical Manifestaions of Thalassemia’ with the help of very well-designed power point presentation where all the major details of the disease, from origin, causes, transfer etc. were discussed. 

Dr. Sikdar, on the other hand, spoke on the general awareness of the disease. He gave certain useful suggestions to the students on becoming a successful healthcare professional. 

Thalassemia screening camp

To emphasis on the importance of Thalassemia screening, the department also organised a screening programme free of cost in association with Barasat Government Hospital where blood samples of 100 interested participants were collected for Thalassemia screening. The students and the faculty members participated in this initiative. 

This was also of great help for the students from the Allied Health Sciences department as they were totally engaged with the programme and this event was a learning process for them as they observed the entire procedure of collecting the blood samples. This will certainly help them in their job lives in future. 

Poster competition and quiz

Moreover, the guest speakers witnessed glimpses of the innovations of the students at the poster exhibition where the students designed posters to spread awareness of Thalassemia and how it can be controlled. 

The one-day long event came to a close with a quiz competition on Thalassemia where students from various departments participated.