A medical genetics department will be opened at SAT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Minister for Health Veena George has said.
This is a huge step forward in rare genetic disease prevention, treatment, and research. Posts of a professor and an assistant professor had been created for this, said the Minister here on Wednesday.
A number of meetings were convened at the Ministerial level for starting the department, Ms. George said. SAT Hospital had been selected as a centre of excellence for rare diseases. The government had opened the first spinal muscular atrophy clinic at SAT Hospital. With the launch of a DM course in medical genetics in future, a number of experts in this area would be nurtured.
She said medical genetics was a fast-developing branch of science. Medical genetics had a huge role to play in early detection of genetic diseases, their prevention, and treatment. It was important to detect genetic diseases during pregnancy and ensure treatment. Though treatment in medical genetics was available at SAT Hospital, a separate department for it was being set up for the first time. This would ensure a permanent mechanism for treatment of rare genetic diseases, she said.
An outpatient wing for new patients will function on Tuesdays and Fridays. The genetics OP will function on Tuesdays and rare diseases special OP on Fridays. Follow-up treatment will be provided on the other days.
The Minister said 190 applications had been received for the centre of excellence scheme. After screening, 56 children with SMA were being provided with medicine. Steps had been taken to provide expensive medicines to seven children with rare genetic diseases.
