Mohammed Bin Rashid Est. staff visited the patients of the Thalassemia Center. They distributed gifts for them and gave the center a new Play Station Game to be used by the patient.

Opened in 1989 as a subdivision of the Pediatrics Department of the Al Wasl Hospital, the Genetic & Thalasemia Centre comprises two clinical divisions - the Thalasemia & Hemoglobinopathy section & the Clinical Genetics Section. This centre caters to a variety of inherited disorders including Thalasemia, sickle cell disease and HbH disease.

The centre is noted for rapidly controlling the number of Thalasemia births in the community, and the centre is proud to report no new births with Thalasemia recorded among registered UAE national families since 1998.

International recognition

The Genetic & Thalasemia Centre was selected among all DOHMS departments to be represented for the Dubai Quality Award and was listed several times by the Dubai Quality Award selection committee for nomination.

In addition, the Thalasemia International Federation, during their visit to the centre was highly appreciative of the activities at the centre and suggested in their letter to World Health Organization (WHO) that it can be considered as a model for other countries to follow.

Moreover, the genetic counseling services received special praise, as did the excellent laboratory support and the unique Thalasemia Software Program.