A group working for persons with hereditary blood diseases is seeking discounts on air tickets for sufferers. Sa'doun Al-Sa'doun of the Project for Combating Hereditary Blood Diseases (Thalasemia) in the Kingdom said the group had contacted several offices seeking the benefits which patients had enjoyed in the recent past. Al-Sa'doun said that hereditary blood disease patients were given financial support by the Ministry of Social Affairs, and further noted official approval to set up a specialist hereditary blood disease center in Al-Ahsa located near the Maternity and Children's Hospital. Work has also started on a health education and family counseling department for sufferers getting married with government support. The Ministry of Health recently revealed that 3 million persons are affected by hereditary blood diseases, notably in the Eastern Province, where a ministry study showed that 30 percent of the population was affected by thalasemia. Ministry statistics show that 1.5 million people are either afflicted by the disease or disease carriers in other regions of the Kingdom, and that 4,248 babies suffering from the disease and 54,516 disease carriers are born annually. Thalasemia is am inherited blood disorder that affects hemoglobin and red blood cells, leading to a mild form of anemia. Persons can carry the disorder their whole lives without knowing about it.
