Sunday Times 2
Sri Lanka to host its first ever global Thalassaemia meet
View(s):The first-ever international conference to be held with regard to Thalassaemia in Sri Lanka is set for May 10 at the auditorium of the Sri Lanka Medical Association.
Held in connection with the World Thalassaemia Day which falls on May 8, participation for this ‘International Conference on Thalassaemia and Iron Overload’ was fully booked three days after registration opened.
The conference is part of a series of events to commemorate World Thalassaemia Day which are being organised by the ‘Hemals Thalassaemia Care Unit’ of the Colombo North Teaching Hospital and the Kelaniya Medical Faculty’s University Medical Unit under the patronage of the Health Ministry.
The eminent panel of speakers at the conference will include Prof. Sir David Weatherall of the University of Oxford; Prof. Nancy Olivieri of the University of Toronto; Prof. Ali Tahar of the American University of Lebanon; Prof. David Rees of the University of London; Prof. Vip Viprakasit of the Mahidol University of Thailand; Dr Ratna Chatterjee of the University of London; and Prof. Anuja Premawardhena of the University of Kelaniya.
A blood donation campaign organised by the patients of the Hemals Thalassaemia Care Unit will be held at its premises at Mahara on May 9, while a walk to make people aware about this disease will also take place from the unit.
Meanwhile, a cultural evening ‘Rhythms of Ragama’ showcasing the talents of thalassaemia patients will be held on May 11 at the Ananda Kularatna Hall under the patronage of the First Lady Shiranthi Wickramasinghe Rajapaksa who is the Patron of the Thalassaemia Society of Sri Lanka and Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena.
The Hemals Thalassaemia Unit operating since 2006 is the only one in Sri Lanka specializing in the care of adolescents and adults with this disease. It is also the regional diagnostic centre for Thalassaemia equipped with haematological and molecular laboratories.
The unit is jointly managed by the University Medical Unit of the Ragama Medical Faculty and the Colombo North Teaching Hospital.