THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department has decided to offer free treatment to six children suffering from critical diseases that incur huge expenses. The children identified are suffering from diseases like juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, dural arteriovenous fistula, lymphoblastic leukemia, and primary hyperoxaluria type 1, said Health Minister Veena George. The state-level committee of the Arogya Kiranam has approved the proposal.
The decision is expected to bring relief to the parents of the children as the cost of treatment runs into several lakhs at private hospitals. The Malabar Cancer Centre provided bone marrow transplantations for a one-year-old boy from Thalassery suffering from juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, for a five-year-old boy from Palakkad suffering from lymphoblastic leukemia and for a 10-year-old girl from Thiruvananthapuram suffering from Shwachman-Diamond syndrome.
A 14-year-old boy from Palakkad underwent embolisation through the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology for dural arteriovenous fistula while a two-year-old girl from Thiruvananthapuram received liver transplantation for primary hyperoxaluria at Kottayam medical college hospital.