Haemophiliac patients in J-K weep blood

Haemophiliac patients in J-K weep blood
PRADEEP DUTTA

JAMMU, NOV 22: Kanchan spends Rs 3,500 on injections for her haemophiliac daughters, from a salary of Rs 5,000. She is a widow and one of her children died recently. Now, already looking old at 35, she wants to save her remaining daughters, but has little hope.

Gypsy, Chhotu and Kumarchand are living a wretched existence, just surviving. They too are suffering from the hereditary blood disease, Haemophilia.

Neglected by the medical community and duped by ``social workers'', hemophiliacs in Jammu are seeing their dear ones die without proper treatment. Buried in debt, these people have been going from pillar to post, seeking help.

Haemophiliac Thoru Ram bled to death after spending days in agony at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward of Government Medical College (GMC) here. Doctors attending on him watched helplessly as the life-saving clotting factor was not available at the hospital. All they could do was wait and watch him die. Despite requests made through newspapers, no help came from anywhere.

``We even approached the Haemophiliac Society here, but they were ready to give medicines only against payment. If we had the money, would we not have purchased the medicines from Delhi?'' asks Kumar, Thoru Ram's son. Doctors attending on his father said they provided cryo precipitate, but the dose was less than the requirement.

Kum Kum Sharma, in-charge of the Blood Bank, GMC, Jammu, says they cannot manufacture cryo precipitate more than what is normally required. ``We can store the precipitate only for a year. If in that period there are no patients, the medicine goes waste. And I am answerable for the financial loss?'' she asks.

Parents of children suffering from the disease are pained at seeing their children live in a different world. Santosh says while other children play out in open, her children are made to sit indoors. ``Many times, I have to literally tie them with a rope to prevent them from going out. I fear that even a minor injury can be fatal for them,'' he says.

Both the sons of Lal Chand, an employee of GMC Jammu, are hemophiliacs. His younger son, Rajesh Chand failed in his matriculation examination. Not that he could not do well. As the poor boy was appearing for his examination, his ears and nose started bleeding. ``It's two years since then. I'd prefer to die than see him crying,'' says Chand.

More than 20 families of hemophiliacs registered with the GMC charge the doctors with lack of sense of duty. They allege that doctors are not administering injections, fearing they would injure the patient.

The only technician in GMC's pathological section -- for whom the hospital spent several lakh of rupees to get him trained from Mumbai -- can do nothing. Important life saving drugs such as Partial Thrombin Time (PTH) and Haemophiliac Factor (HF) that should always be on standby are reportedly out of stock.

The hospital does not even have a coaglometer, electronic weight balance, dioniser plant or kits needed to diagnose the disease. Dr S. Goswami, principal of GMC, admitted that the hospital is devoid of basic facilities. He put the blame on a financial crunch.