New thalassemia cases decline in Maharashtra over five years, data reveals
Telangana’s Road to a Thalassemia-Free State
Pune: Maharashtra has recorded a steady decline in new thalassemia cases over the past five years, according to data released by the State Health Department.
The primary reason behind the declining figures is the vigorous effort being undertaken by the state regarding Bone Marrow Transplants (BMT), which is currently the only known cure for this disease.
According to the data, a continuous decline has been observed in the number of new patients: 725 in 2021, 628 in 2022, 566 in 2023, 552 in 2024, and 458 in 2025.
Experts and officials attribute this success to the combined efforts of free bone marrow matching campaigns, state-sponsored transplants, and a growing trend towards early prevention.
Speaking to TOI, Dr Suhas Mohanlkar, Deputy Director of Hemoglobinopathies in the State Health Services, stated that the state has sponsored BMTs for 90 children in the last year alone.
Meanwhile, a high-level 11-member committee was constituted last month with the objective of formulating a proposal to make the High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) test mandatory for every pregnant woman. This test aids in detecting thalassemia in the unborn child at an early stage, thereby providing couples with the option of medical termination of pregnancy to avoid the birth of a child suffering from "Thalassemia Major."
To bridge the gap between patients and donors, the Health Department has launched a free bone marrow cross-matching drive in cities such as Pune, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Nanded, under the "Vision 2025: Thalassemia-Free India Program."
“As of now, a bone marrow transplant remains the only definitive cure for thalassemia, which is a highly expensive procedure. In comparison, testing is remarkably affordable,” said Dr Kannan Subramanian, senior hemato-oncologist at KEM Hospital, Pune.
The cost of a bone marrow transplant can be approximately 12 lakh rupees, whereas the cost of detection, a simple blood test called hemoglobin electrophoresis, is barely 1,000 rupees.
