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Free blood test camp in Shuklaphanta detects sickle cell trait in 14 individuals

२०८२ असार २, ०२:०६ Dineshkhabar Desk

Kanchanpur: The municipality of Shuklaphanta has prioritized the early identification and diagnosis of sickle cell anemia and thalassemia by organizing a free blood testing camp in Ward No. 11, Kaluwapur.

A total of 180 individuals—116 women and 64 men—underwent testing during the health camp. Of these, 14 individuals were identified as carriers of the sickle cell trait, according to Paramananda Bhatta, Head of the Municipal Health Department.

Among those identified with the trait were nine women and five men, including a six-year-old child and a 65-year-old woman. Bhatta stated that none of the identified individuals or their families had undergone screening for sickle cell anemia before. Confirmation of sickle cell anemia in the identified individuals will be made after further laboratory testing.

Doctors at the camp provided counseling to those diagnosed with the trait and advised participants to consider genetic compatibility—referred to as “horoscope matching” in the context of sickle cell anemia—before marriage.

Earlier, similar camps were conducted in six other wards of the municipality, where 126 individuals were found to carry the sickle cell trait.

According to Bhatta, sickle cell anemia is a hereditary blood disorder in which red blood cells become crescent-shaped and rigid, impairing blood flow and causing severe pain. These malformed cells break down more quickly, leading to anemia and potential long-term damage to organs such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver.

Sickle cell anemia is commonly found in the Tharu community. While the sickle cell trait is not a disease itself, it can be detected through blood testing and may lead to the disease if inherited from both parents.

Dineshkhabar Desk

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