Haemophilic teenager awaits life-saving injection

DEHRADUN: Ten-year-old Anant seems to be hanging between life and death. Suffering from haemophilia, he is severely bleeding from his right knee and has been waiting for doctors at Doon hospital to inject an AHF (anti haemophiliac factor) VIII to stop the flow of blood.
However, the apathy of the state health department can be gauged from the fact that the life-saving injection is not available at Doon hospital.
For people suffering from haemophilia, even a slight injury can prove fatal as they can bleed to death if not injected on time.
Despite the state government declaring free treatment to people suffering from haemophilia in March 2012, patients are at the receiving end.
It is learnt that these injections are currently stocked at Doon hospital, Base hospital in Haldwani and Kotdwar district hospital. However, patients are returning without getting treatment from the past over two months. Anant, who hails from Doiwala area of Dehradun, was admitted at the Doon hospital on Friday.
Discussing the case, Deepak Singhal, president of Haemophilia Society, Uttarakhand chapter, told TOI, “Doctors at Doon hospital tried to inject a drug that is used for patients who get resistant to a particular factor. They were trying to administer an injection which was not even required. The injections used for inhibitor cases might have been in excess and doctors seemed adamant to inject them. I noticed that the injections were nearing expiry date too,” alleged Singhal.
Notably, more than 200 people are suffering from the disease in the state. Haemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder in which the blood doesn't clot normally. A person with the disease bleeds for a longer time than others after an injury. The bleeding can also be internal and damages organs and tissues and can be life threatening.