TEHRAN - Patients with hemophilia and thalassemia have their medical bills paid off by their health benefits and government.

An expert responsible for department of hemophilia and thalassemia in the Ministry of Health has said that an estimated 10,000 people with hemophilia and 19,000 with thalassemia live in Iran, and they receive support from the government, IRNA reported on Saturday.

According to Marzieh Hantooshzadeh, while these patients with blood disorder have covered benefits, for some services they will have a copay.

“Though excluded services and patients’ coinsurance are all picked up by the Ministry of Health.”

As for their medicine, Hantooshzadeh explained, domestic-produced medicine are free of charge for the patients, while foreign-sourced pharmaceuticals are not covered by the insurance 100 percent.

Ever since 1997, Iran has begun a screening measure for thalassemia, giving doctors an upper hand over the disease. As a result, last year only 180 new patients were found with that blood disorder. The number for new hemophilia patients reaches 12 each year.

Sistan and Baluchestan Province has the highest number in the blood diseases as the locals tend to get married in tribal form and without proper premarital blood screening tests.
Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder in which the body makes an abnormal form of hemoglobin which causes severe anemia and in hemophilia the body's ability to make blood clots impairs.