Koraput, Aug 9: The Koraput district administration will open a sickle cell unit at the district hospital on August 15, for the benefit of people down with the disease. Sickle cell disease is a genetic disorder which turns blood cells that are normally convex, shaped like sickles, reducing their oxygen-carrying capacity.
The hemoglobin level of a person suffering from the disease also goes down which results in arthritic pain and the only way to check the disease is through blood transfusion.
Koraput collector, Jaya Kumar said that presently people affected by the sickle cell disease in the district have to go to VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla for treatment. The people face a lot of problems travelling till Burla. Due to being ignorant about the disease and financial problems, people avoid going to far off places for treatment. Thus, the sickle cell unit at Koraput hospital will be of much help to the patients.
At first, the medicines meant only for the disease will be distributed at the unit free of cost while in the next one month, diagnosis centre will be opened in the hospital, the collector further added.
