Thalassaemia patients hit as life-saving drug is out of stock
The Hindu
The drug Desferal 500 mg is used to remove excess iron from the body
Yousra Iram, 27, a Bengaluru-based audit and research officer living with thalassaemia, is worried as she is unable to get her life-saving iron chelation injection Desferal 500 mg from her usual suppliers.
Desferal is widely used to remove excess iron from the body that accumulates as a result of frequent blood transfusion. If not taken regularly, the excess iron will damage vital organs.
Although Ms. Iram was taking the drug thrice a week earlier, her doctor has now advised her to take it daily as there is excess build up of iron in her body. “But we have not been able to get this injection for the last 18 days and are desperately contacting all suppliers, who say there is no stock,” said her father Syed Shameel Ahmed, a retired telecom employee.