KUALA LUMPUR: It costs around RM3mil to treat a thalassemia patient from infancy up to the age of 40, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister revealed that 9,554 patients are currently receiving treatment at public hospitals nationwide.
The standard treatment for thalassemia patients in Malaysia includes regular blood transfusions, chelation therapy to control iron overload, and other supportive clinical care.
Dzulkefly said that although gene therapy is the latest treatment option, its high cost remains a major challenge.
“A one-time curative treatment costs between RM10mil and RM13mil per patient,” he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Feb 23).
Gene therapy is a treatment method in which a patient’s own stem cells are extracted and genetically modified in a laboratory before being reinfused into the body.
He added that the ministry has also been using Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) to treat patients.
Currently, HSCT services are available at Hospital Tunku Azizah and Hospital Wanita dan Kanak-Kanak Sabah.
“A total of 212 thalassemia patients have been cured through HSCT since 2007. The cost of HSCT for one patient ranges between RM100,000 and RM120,000,” he said.
He was responding to a question from Ahmad Yunus Hairi (PN–Kuala Langat) regarding the latest number of thalassemia patients in Malaysia, the cost of treatment from childhood to age 40, and the government’s plans to develop gene therapy treatment methods locally.
Dzulkefly explained that thalassemia is a genetic disease in which parents may be carriers.
“If both parents are carriers, one in four children may have thalassemia,” he said.
“Hence, it is important to strengthen genetic counselling so that parents understand the probability of their children inheriting thalassemia,” he added.
He also said that more than two million students have been screened for thalassemia in schools.
“A total of 57,910 students have been confirmed as thalassemia carriers,” he said.
