Lack of life-saving medicine poses threat to Hemophilia patients

Srinagar, Apr 17: The shortage of essential, life-saving hemophilia drugs has been going on for a few months now, and is a regular issue every year. While the patients suffering from hemophilia, many of them children as young as five-year old, gathered at the Press Colony in Srinagar today to seek attention to their plight, police detained them for not seeking prior permission for the gathering.

Around 50 people gathered at Press Colony on Thursday morning to protest the non-availability of Clotting Factors. The protestors were hemophilia patients of all age groups, including children. While speaking to Greater Kashmir, the protestors said, a police party tried to quell the protests and bundled up the crowd into police vehicles to be kept at Police Station Kothi Bagh. “The children were scared and crying, and some of them had nose bleeds,” a protester told Greater Kashmir while seeking anonymity. He lamented that their legitimate demand for life-saving factors and right to voice it was being “trampled upon”. He alleged their mobile phones were also taken away by police, and they were kept at the police station for many hours. “We are patients, not criminals or disrupters. We are already disabled, what harm can we cause anyone?” another hemophilia patient said.

Station House Officer (SHO) PS Kothi Bagh Mohammad Manzoor said that any gathering needs prior permission from the district administration. “We had reports about a gathering for which no permission had been issued, so we had to take this action,” he said. He said the detained patients were ‘free to go’ when Greater Kashmir spoke to him Thursday afternoon. “It is just that the Child Welfare Committee is at the Police Station to talk to the minors and explore how they can be helped,” he said.The

Child Welfare Committee team reached Police Station Kothi Bagh after receiving information about children who were with the people who had been stopped from protesting. The team said they were there to ensure all the rights of children were protected. Soon after, the Hemophilia patients were allowed to leave and talk to the media.

World Hemophilia Day is commemorated on April 17 every year. Hemophilia, a life-threatening genetic disorder that causes a person to bleed nonstop due to an injury or spontaneously at times. The disorder mostly affects males. There is no cure for the disorder, however, effective management can prevent crisis situations and disabilities.