Thalassemia 5th Largest Healthcare Cost in Indonesia, US$185 Million a Year

TheIndonesia.id - The government spent a budget of IDR 2.78 trillion or US$185 million for blood transfusion treatments and medicines for thalassemia patients in 2020, said an official at the Indonesian Ministry of Health. Thalassemia occupies the fifth position of financing in the health sector for non-communicable diseases.

"In terms of financing, according to BPJS Kesehatan 2020 data, the burden of health financing from 2014 to 2020 continues to increase," said the Acting Director of Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Indonesian Ministry of Health, Elvieda Sariwati, through a virtual press conference attended by Zoom in Jakarta, Tuesday, May 10, 2022.

She said thalassemia financing occupies the fifth position among non-communicable diseases after heart disease, kidney failure, cancer, and stroke. Thalassemia is a hereditary disease (a genetic disorder) due to red blood cell disorders that can cause the patient to have blood transfusions throughout his life.

"The disease can be prevented through early detection," she said.

Thalassemia can be inherited from a marriage between two carriers. A carrier of thalassemia trait looks healthy or has no symptoms, it can only be identified through blood tests and hemoglobin analysis, she said.

"How to know a thalassemia is by examining a family history of anemia or thalassemia patients, pale, weak, a history of repeated blood transfusions, as well as hematological blood examinations and Hb analysis," she said.

Based on the Indonesian Thalassemia Foundation data, there is a continuous increase in thalassemia cases. Since 2012 there were 4,896 cases until June 2021, the data for people with thalassemia in Indonesia were 10,973 cases. Sariwati said that early detection aims to identify carriers of thalassemia traits so that there is no marriage between carriers of the trait.

Clinically there are three types of thalassemia, namely thalassemia major, thalassemia intermedia, and thalassemia minor or carrier traits. Patients with thalassemia major require routine blood transfusions for life, two to four times a week. Based on the results of Eijkman's research in 2012, it is estimated that the birth rate of babies with thalassemia major is around 20 percent or 2,500 children from a population of around 240 million in Indonesia.

She said patients with thalassemia intermedia need blood transfusions, but not routinely. While patients with thalassemia minor are clinically healthy, live like normal people physically and mentally, are asymptomatic, and do not require blood transfusions.

"Until now, thalassemia cannot be cured, but the birth of thalassemia major babies can be prevented by avoiding marriages between fellow carriers or preventing pregnancy in couples carrying thalassemia traits that can be identified through early detection of certain populations," she said.