Sickle Cell Project
We run a project for screening, diagnosis and management in eastern Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh. The state has the highest burden of sickle cell disease. The Sickle Cell Anemia Control Mission, Eastern Madhya Pradesh is working on the disease in Anuppur, Shahdol, Umaria, Sidhi, Dindori, & Mandala districts. The project has three major components – namely screening, sickle patient management, and strengthening the system. Active screening is done of pregnant women (door-to-door), school going children, and 1st blood relatives of positive patients. Door to door screening of pregnant women, school going children & family members of the positive cases is being done by the project management unit in Anuppur. If a pregnant woman is found positive (sickle trait or disease) then the husband is also screened. This screening is a very intensive process involving 3 team members per team (1 ANM, 1 Lab Technician, 1 Resource Person). The resource person plans daily screening and makes resource arrangements (screening consumables, data collection, vehicle arrangements etc.). ANMs do the pre-screening counselling, sample collections and ANC check ups & Lab technicians do all the tests. Each team collects an average of 60+ samples daily. There are five such teams.
SCD Screening in an anganwadi of Kotma block of Anuppur District
In Anuppur out of 8 targeted facilities 5 facilities (1 DH & 4 CHC) are providing treatment to sickle patients in OPDs & IPDs. Other than these 5 facilities, 5 patient support group meetings are conducted every month in Anuppur, Jaithari, Kotma & Pushprajgarh Block. In these meetings, more than 450 patients receive treatment, counselling & regular checkup every month. 2 patient support group meetings are being conducted in Dindori district where 200+ patients are receiving their counselling, regular checkup, physical examination & treatment. Shahdol, Anuppur, Dindori, & Mandala provide Hydroxyurea & plain folic acid 5mg with painkillers to patients for the management of the disease.
Sickle cell Screening of Children at village level
In addition to this, we have also been supporting the blood banks in collecting and maintaining stock of blood in Anuppur district. We have also developed Patients counselling book in hindi manuals for doctors, lab technicians, and awareness leaflets and posters for patients and the community. We also use an ‘App’ created by JSS called Avni to collect data. Along with our efforts, we also conduct numerous training sessions for doctors and lab technicians to make screening and management of the disease more efficient and accessible.
1. Please click here for Sickle Cell Project Model Description.
2. Sickle project model as best practices at 7th National health Summit.