KJ Somaiya Hospital Inaugurates Thalassemia Day Care Centre

Mumbai, March 31, 2022: K J Somaiya Hospital & Research Centre launched the Thalassemia Day Care Centre in collaboration from NGO Sankalp  India Foundation and a generous donation from the Rotary Club of Bombay Airport. The thalassemia day care centre in the Department of Pediatrics is an 8 bedded blood transfusion centre. This centre will provide clinical care, chelation, and blood transfusion services free of charge.

Every year 15,000 children in India are born with this deadly disease- thalassemia which accounts for approximately 10% of the total world incidence. It is estimated that nearly 42 million in India have β-thalassemia traits. Thalassemia is a common genetic disorder that does not carry the normal oxygen to various parts of the body, resulting in stunted growth, heart failure, and other organ abnormalities.

The only cure available for such children is bone marrow transplantation (BMT) which is not affordable to the parents of all these children. Therefore, the mainstay of treatment is repeated blood transfusions for individuals with thalassemia major and many with thalassemia intermedia. Considering the huge population of transfusion-dependent children with thalassemia in society, there is a dire need for thalassemia blood transfusion centres. The Department of Pediatrics at KJ Somaiya Hospital has opened a thalassemia day care centre to serve these patients who are mostly underprivileged kids and save their lives.

About Somaiya Ayurvihar :

The Somaiya Medical Trust founded by Padma Bhushan Shri K J Somaiya in 1991 continues to carry forward his legacy of ‘Being of Service to Humanity’. The medical trust is the Somaiya Trust’s contribution to the welfare of the nation, by building quality medical institutions that make healthcare accessible to all and creating well-qualified medical and nursing professionals to meet the ever-growing health needs of the country. 

Somaiya Ayurvihar, spread over 28-acres in the heart of Mumbai city, comprises a Charitable Hospital, Medical college, Physiotherapy College, and a School and College of Nursing.