Eugene Fan: Bridging Therapeutic Breakthroughs and Equitable Thalassaemia Care
Eugene Fan, Senior Consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:
”Thalassaemia care is undergoing a remarkable transformation. But how do we ensure that therapeutic breakthroughs reach the patients who need them most?
I am pleased to share our latest commentary in the Lancet Haematology, co-authored with Professor Anuja Premawardhena, accompanying ‘Thalassaemia revisited: from health burden to breakthroughs’, an important joint Series between The Lancet Haematology and The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia.
New medicines can reduce transfusion requirements, while gene addition and gene editing offer the possibility of durable transfusion independence.
Yet across south and southeast Asia, many patients continue to face inadequate transfusions, iron toxicity, fragmented follow-up, and financial barriers to essential care.
Our commentary asks how scientific progress can translate into longer, healthier lives across the region.
This requires investment in safe blood supplies, reliable iron chelation, timely and ethically grounded carrier screening, and coordinated specialist care.
It also requires rigorous multicentre trials of affordable, repurposed therapies, alongside the development of newer treatments.
AI could help extend screening and iron-assessment capabilities to underserved settings, supported by confirmatory testing and specialist pathways.
Regional collaboration must also protect continuity of care for migrant and displaced populations, particularly when conflict or economic crises disrupt essential supplies.
Prevention and treatment are complementary responsibilities. Reducing future severe disease must go hand in hand with improving care for people already living with thalassaemia.
Ultimately, the measure of progress is whether our patients—regardless of geography or income—can live longer, healthier lives.”
Other posts featuring Eugene Fan on Hemostasis Today.
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