Daga Hospital Leads Sickle Cell Elimination Effort in Nagpur

Daga Memorial Women’s Hospital in Nagpur, operating under the state public health department, has become a pivotal force in the fight against sickle cell anemia as part of India's National Sickle Cell Anemia Elimination Mission 2047. The hospital currently provides treatment to over 1,500 registered patients, including administration of hydroxyurea, a drug that reduces hospital admissions and pain crises. Alongside treatment efforts, the hospital implements mandatory sickle cell screening for approximately 10,000 pregnant women each year identifying around 5% as carriers of the trait,which enables early diagnosis and targeted counseling.

Every expectant mother registered at the hospital undergoes testing, with on average 1,000 women screened each month. Medical Superintendent Dr. Dilip Madhavi emphasized the screening’s critical role in preventing disease transmission. Civil Surgeon Dr. Nivrutti Rathod indicated that the hospital plans to augment its maternal screening by establishing a comprehensive genetic testing center aimed at offering advanced prenatal diagnostics, including amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS).

Haemato-oncologist Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh, who heads the hospital’s haematology unit, explained that sickle cell disease causes red blood cells to deform into sickle shapes, leading to severe pain episodes, anemia, and frequent infections. Bone marrow transplantation, the only curative option, costs up to ₹30 lakh, well beyond the reach of most families. To ease financial burdens, Daga Hospital partners with Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and the Sankalp Foundation to extend CSR funding of up to ₹12 lakh for eligible children under 12 undergoing transplants. An HLA typing camp will also be hosted free of cost through collaboration with the Sankalp Foundation, as it is a crucial prerequisite for bone marrow transplantation.

Secretary of the National Alliance of Sickle Cell Organizations (Nasco), Gautam Dongre, urged mandatory premarital testing and routine pregnancy screening to drastically reduce hereditary transmission of sickle cell traits. Citing his personal experience, discovering his own carrier status only after his child’s diagnosis, Dongre underscored the importance of early interventions to spare families from severe genetic disorders.

The hospital’s multidisciplinary team comprising Dr. Deshmukh, counsellors Sanjeevani Satpute and Leena Borkar, and lab technicians Prachiti Walke and Rohit Jaiswal works together to facilitate screening, counseling, diagnostics, and financial assistance.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Sakshi Thakar/MSM)