Thalassemia Testing Mandated for Punjab Students

Prospective students seeking enrollment in educational institutions across Punjab, including schools, colleges, and religious seminaries, will be required to undergo compulsory screening for thalassemia and other inherited disorders.

This mandate is a component of the Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025, ratified by the Punjab Assembly, and it is applicable to all educational institutions, both public and private.

Beta Thalassaemia stands as the most widespread genetic ailment in the nation, exhibiting a gene prevalence rate of about 6%. Specifically, this implies that approximately six out of every 100 individuals in Pakistan are carriers of this mutated gene.

Given a populace exceeding 220 million, approximately 13.2 million individuals are healthy carriers of the flawed beta thalassemia gene. The established tradition of marriages within families in Pakistan has amplified the incidence of children affected by thalassemia, thereby posing a considerable challenge to public health.

According to the stipulations of the new legislation, students must furnish medical test results along with their admission applications. The primary goal of this legislation is to curtail the transmission of hereditary conditions through proactive detection and increased awareness.

The legislation also prioritizes stringent confidentiality measures, imposing penalties for the unauthorised disclosure of a student’s private health information.

Furthermore, the government will facilitate complimentary testing options for students originating from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, alongside offering counseling resources to those diagnosed with relevant conditions.

The proposed bill will be presented to the governor of Punjab for final endorsement before its complete implementation.

Previously, on April 13, Khawaja Salman Rafique, the provincial Health Minister, noted that Iran and various other Muslim countries have enacted enduring strategies in this domain. He stated, “We must implement a robust campaign to mitigate thalassemia within our communities.”

He further emphasized that the Punjab government is committed to taking all feasible measures to enhance the calibre of medical education, acknowledging that a thriving society is constructed upon the cornerstones of education and health, with the provision of optimal healthcare services being the fundamental responsibility of the state.