Our Objectives

Arpan Thalassemia Society provides treatment to the Thalassemia Patients and strives to create awareness and reduce birth of Thalassemia Major Child.

1

All Thalassemia treatment under one roof.

2

Consultating with various expert doctors.

3

Regular blood transfusion.

4

To minimize the pain of patients

5

To make blood transfusion as a happy experience

6

To handle all effects of Blood Transfusion

7

Health facilities for Thalassemia Children Free Of Cost.

8

A dedicated & well equipped day care centre with all facilites

9

Registered patients yearly get together with their families.

10

Friendly and cheerful staff

Our Services

Thalassemia Awareness

It is important to make the community understand about hemoglobinopathies including the treatment and prevention modalities.

1. Campaigning at various Schools, Colleges & Rural area to create awareness in the society especially adolescent population about genetically inherited but preventable blood disorder (Thalassemia).

2. Mass communication and media.

3. Organize Quiz programes based on prescreening power point assisted educative talks and educational booklets distribution to students during school visits.

  • Eligible couples- Increase awareness of the disease, and motivate for screening for carrier status.
  • Youth – Increase the awareness on the prevention and care of the disease.
  • Affected families- Encourage voluntary screening for Thalassemia in the relatives
  • Children who have Thalassemia major- Inform about care and prevention of complications.
Thalassemia Prevention
  • Thalassemia screening of youth preferably in the premarital (18-25Years) age group.
  • Thalassemia minor screenings are essential before marriage to prevent possible birth of the Thalassemia major child.
  • We conducted Thalassemia screening of 52000 youth till date.
  • Our aim through this Thalassemia prevention program is to minimize the birth of the Thalassemia major child.

Get yourself screened for Thalassemiabefore maariage and help us in our mission to eradicate Thalassemia.

Screen Yourself
Treatment

At Arpan Thalassemia Society we offer comprehensive care; free of cost to the registered Thalassemia patients

  • Transfusion – Regular transfusion at both the centres(Nashik & Mulund).
  • Blood Units: which is compatible & safest for the transfusion to our patient.
  • We conducted Thalassemia screening of 52000 youth till date.
  • NAT testing: Blood units are tested using nucleic acid testing (NAT) to prevent transfusion transmitted infections.
Regular Blood Transfusion

We provide blood units which are compatible & safest for the transfusion to our patients. Packed RBCs are useful to increase Haemoglobin ( Hb%) . Every 2-4 weeks such transfusions are needed depending upon age, weight, Hb% and physical examination. We have trained staff handling the Blood transfusions.

Leucoreduced blood

Leucoreduction helps by reducing WBC (White Blood Cells) from the red blood cell unit Which provides protection against febrile non-hemolytic and allergic transfusion reaction, transfusion? Transmitted CMV (cytomegalovirus) infection and HLA

Why Leucodepletion?

The reason for Leucodepleted blood components is to prevent Febrile Transfusion reaction & Allergic Reactions. The incidence of these reactions in multi-transfused patients like Thalassemia is around 2 – 3%. As the Thalassemia patients need to be transfused every 15-20 days, they are at the risk of Alloimmunization. To prevent the suffering Thalassemia patients from above mentioned side-effects of White blood cells (leucocytes), Arpan Thalassemia Society is using Leuco-filters – the specialized filters Used to remove white blood cells from donated blood.
Expenditure for Leucodepletion of one blood bag:
Image shows the Blood Collection Bags with Leucocyte Filters

Periodic Medical Assessment

Free consultation of Doctors including, Cardiologist, and Endocrinologist, hematologist, physician, Radiologist and pediatrician was made available to the patients of ATS. Periodic assessment for cardiac status, iron overload, eye checkup, Transfusion Transmitted Infections (TTI) markers and bone scans.

Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT)
Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT Testing) – Importance of NAT Testing: Thalassemia Patients have high incidence of transfusion transmitted diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C transmitted through Non NAT tested (ELISA tested) blood. The incidence of the above mentioned diseases worldwide is 9%, 6% & 45% respectively in Thalassemia. Hence while treating the Thalassemia Patient; one must safeguard them from deadliest Viruses such as HIV, Hepatitis B & hepatitis C otherwise all the efforts will go in vain if a Thalassemia Patients get infected by any one of the above mentioned infections. Hence before transfusing any blood bag to the patient, one must test the bag for presence of above Mentioned viruses using highly sensitive and highly specialized test such as Nucleic Acid Test (NAT Test). Nucleic acid test has a very small Window period as compared to routinely used ELISA test, Which has long window period?

Impact of continuous NAT tested blood for Thalassemia patients:
None of the patients registered at Arpan Thalassemia Centre, Nasik has got infected with HIV, Hepatitis B or C through blood transfusion as compared to data worldwide where HIV, Hepatitis B & Hepatitis C is seen in 9%, 6% & 45% of the Thalassemia respectively. This is attributable to NAT Tested blood. This data was the reason for winning international award (ISBT) in year 2016. Expenditure for NAT testing of one blood bag: INR 1000/- Most advanced technology to detect HIV, HBV & HCV infections. If the donor is in ‘window period’ and not tested by NAT Test HIV, HBV & HCV viruses can get transmitted through blood transfusion to patient.

Infection Window period(When tested by ELISA technology using best 4th generation kits) Window period(When tested by NAT)
HIV 20.3 days 4.9 days
HBC 53.3 days 14.9 days
HCV 58.3 days 2.2 days
1 in 866 infections was missed in ELISA which has been detected by NAT in last 5 years.

Our Future Plans

We aim to further conduct campaign for Mass awareness utilizing media communication & sharing pamphlets.

Extensive Thalassemia minor screening program aiming to completely eliminate the birth of Thalassemia major child.

Antenatal screening of pregnant females. Rh & Kell (phenotype matched) blood unit to Thalassemia patients matched blood to all Thalassemia patients –

  • Prevention of complications (alloimmunization) and maximum benefit of transfused red cells.
  • Reduction in number of blood transfusions.

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