Turkey opens unit for kids with blood disease in Pakistan

A Turkish government-funded facility for children suffering from blood disorders was inaugurated in Pakistan's commercial capital of Karachi on Monday.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) set up the 10-bed, state-of-the-art high dependency unit (HDU) in collaboration with the Afzaal Memorial Thalassemia Foundation in the port city. Thalassemia is a blood disorder which deprives the body of the hemoglobin it needs.

Turkish Consul General in Karachi Tolga Ucak, TIKA's Karachi coordinator Ibrahim Katırcı, and the Afzaal Memorial Thalassemia Foundation founder Asim Qidwai inaugurated the facility.

Addressing the ceremony, Ucak said Ankara will continue to cooperate with Pakistan in sectors relating to socioeconomic development.

Katırcı said the new facility is aimed at enhancing the "life quality of children born with thalassemia and blood disorders and easing the financial burden of their parents."

Thanking the Turkish government and TIKA for establishing the special medical unit, Qidwai said it will help the children fight for their lives.

Last month, at Karachi's Al-Mustafa Welfare Hospital, TIKA established an operation theater for free surgeries for cleft lips and palates.

An ultrasound facility with five-color Doppler machines, serving up to 200 patients a day, was also established by TIKA at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Karachi, one of the country's largest public-sector hospitals.