TEHRAN – The Ministry of Health will provide services to patients who are suffering from hard-to-treat and rare diseases during the Noruz (New Year) holidays, starting March 21.

“The provision of services will be available in clinics affiliated with medical science universities,” IRNA quoted Amir-Hesam Alirezaei, a health ministry official, as saying on Monday.

All medical emergency wards at specialized cancer treatment centers will be active during the holidays, he added, noting that all government chemotherapy and radiation therapy centers will also be open.

At least one 24-hour dental clinic at each university should be open, and in big cities, in addition to government centers, at least two private dental clinics should operate round the clock, he stressed.

A total of 442 rare diseases have been identified in the country according to a recent report by the Rare Disease Foundation.

The incidence of rare diseases is very low to the extent that maybe one or two people with a certain rare disease are present in the country. Some rare diseases such as ‘butterfly skin or EB’, ‘Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)’, ‘Metabolic diseases’, ‘Autism’, and ‘Dystrophies' are among the most common cases in the country.

In this regard, the National Rare Disease Day is held annually on the eighth day of Esfand (the last Iranian calendar month), which falls on February 26, to raise awareness and generate support for individuals with rare diseases and their families.

The Day was approved to be designated as the national day of rare disease in the national calendar in May 2021.

MG