Sickle cell claims 191 lives in 6 years

Manama : Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) claimed 189 Bahrainis and two expatriates in the past six years, Health Ministry statistics has showed.

In her reply to queries submitted by MP Abdullah Binhowail on the latest figures related to SCD patients in Bahrain, Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh confirmed that 8,664 SCD patients are registered with the ministry who benefit from the primary and secondary healthcare programmes.

The minister explained in her answer that 4,271 are males while the remaining 4,393 patients are females.

“191 SCD patients passed away in Bahrain as a result of SCD complications in the period between 2011-2016. The main death causes were pulmonary embolism, acute chest syndrome, SCD hepatopathy, SCD renal failure, immunodeficiency and infections,” Al Saleh clarified in a written reply.

MP Binhowail, who heads the Foreign Affairs, Defence and National Security Committee in the House of Representatives, also demanded more explanations about not establishing a specialised centre to receive female SCD patients in Bahrain yet, similarly to male patients.

Al Saleh affirmed that female SCD patients are given prominence at the Accident and Emergency Department in Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), adding that a special zone is allocated for them.

It’s worth mentioning that a specialised centre for male SCD patients, the Hereditary Blood Disorder Centre, was opened at SMC in 2014 under the patronage of the Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

More details are scheduled to be discussed in the presence of the minister during the next weekly meeting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.