Federal Minister for Housing and Works Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Monday stressed the necessary legislation, awareness, and mandatory lab tests before marriage and the use of modern research to prevent Thalassemia in Pakistan.

He expressed these views during his visit to the Thalassemia Centre of Sundas Foundation in F-9 Park Islamabad, where he inaugurated the Activity Room established for thalassemic children and the electric cart donated by Allied Bank to facilitate the transportation of children from the outer gate.

While speaking at the ceremony as chief guest, the Minister deeply praised the selfless work of the Sundas Foundation that being a pioneer non-profit organization of its nature, is providing free-of-cost blood transfusion services to thousands of children countrywide.

He admired the spirit of senior management to serve humanity and also remembered the humanitarian work of the founding chairman Muneer Ahmed Qureshi alias Munnu Bhai who demonstrated profound involvement in the treatment of patients suffering from Thalassemia.

On this occasion, the Minister distributed gifts among the children. In his address, the Director Sundas Foundation Islamabad Air Vice Marshal Aftab Hussain described the functions and operations of the foundation, its current services, and its challenges.

He said the foundation has been working for the last 26 years and nowadays it has expanded its services to nine major cities in Pakistan with twelve established centers.

He said this organization is transfusing 30,000 blood bags every year and supplying 250-300 units of healthy and screened blood and blood products daily.

The center in Islamabad since its inception six years ago, has benefited 52243 patients with any sort of blood disease or disorder, Air Vice Marshal Aftab Hussain said, adding that the Centre provides free-of-cost blood transfusion services, medicines, testing, and investigation facilities.

He informed that to provide a holistic environment an activity room for religious, academic, and extracurricular activities for the thalassemic children has been established.

He said this is the first thalassemic center in the world to have this facility. He counted escalating inflation and varying blood donation trends in society as the major challenges of the organization.

In the end, senior actor and director Khalid Abbas Dar gave a vote of thanks and expressed gratitude to the organizers, donors, and the chief guest.