The New Indian Express ·
Odisha Health Minister inaugurates CoC for sickle cell disease, unveils two state-of-the-art facilities at SCB
CUTTACK: Health and Family Welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling on Tuesday inaugurated the Centre of Competence (CoC) for sickle cell disease (SCD) at the department of clinical hematology of SCB Medical College and Hospital.
Mahaling also unveiled two state-of-the-art facilities, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Automated Capillary Zone Electrophoresis for Newborn Screening, at the hospital. The first of their kind in Odisha and eastern India, NGS will aid cancer genomics and help in the diagnosis and management of various cancers, as well as genetic blood disorders such as SCD, thalassemia and hemophilia, while the Automated Capillary Zone Electrophoresis machine will help confirm genetic blood disorders in newborns.
The CoC has been established with the installation of the two advanced machines at a cost of Rs 3.90 crore under the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission (NSCAEM).
