Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule asking the government to explain as to why they should not be directed to formulate a provision for including Thalassemia test report in the national identity cards (NID) of people so that patients of this disease do not marry each other and their children are not affected by this disease.
The HC bench of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo issued the rule following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Md Eunus Ali Akond seeking necessary directives on this issue.
Cabinet Secretary, Health Secretary, Law Secretary, Home Secretary, Election Commission, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and President of the
Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council have been asked to comply with the rule in four weeks.
Eunus Ali Akond said in the writ petition that Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder and it causes the human body to have less hemoglobin than normal and hemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen.
Thalassemia can cause anemia, leaving people fatigued and if someone has mild Thalassemia, they might not need treatment. But more severe forms might require regular blood transfusions.
The mutations associated with Thalassemia are passed from parents to children. The more mutated genes the more severe Thalassemia and as such the respondents should be directed to make provision, he stated in the petition, adding that a provision needs to be formulated for inserting Thalassemia info into NID cards.
