This is an archive article published on September 23, 2016

Supply restored, but shortage of life-saving drug affects thalassemia patients

While the supply was restored three days ago, patients like Tania Vaswani have suffered a harrowing time.

2 min readPuneSep 23, 2016 05:32 AM IST First published on: Sep 23, 2016 at 05:32 AM IST

Tania Vaswani (name changed) suffers from thalassemia major and requires the life-saving drug Desferal — an injection that checks the iron overload in the body due to frequent blood transfusions. “I am getting married next month and have been on intensive therapy. For last two months, there has been a shortage and due to this, the iron levels in my body have shot up,” she said.

While the supply was restored three days ago, patients like her have suffered a harrowing time. “There is alternative medicines which are drugs to be taken orally. But they really don’t suit me and I face many side effects,” she said.
Tania, who has to take four vials of the injection daily, pays Rs 600 each day for this expensive drug. One box has 10 bottles and costs Rs 1,500 and not many can afford this injection.