On Friday, the Tata Trust Foundation (TSF) and the National Health Mission (NHM), Jharkhand, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), an independent organization under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, to screen the state’s population for sickle cell anemia (SCA).

Officials claim that this initiative blends the TSF’s dedication to improving Jharkhand’s population’s health with the CCMB’s goal of early detection and improving the lives of SCA families. Estimates of the state’s SCA burden are anticipated from the pilot study, which will also help with the development of disease management and prevention plans.

“Under the leadership of Dr. Giriraj Ratan Chandak, a senior scientist and current Sir JC Bose fellow, at the CSIR-CCMB, we developed a low-cost, robust, rapid, and reliable Dried Blood Spot (DBS) PCR based molecular test,” a senior officer stated, highlighting CSIR-SCAN (a dried blood spot-based PCR test) for screening of sickle cell anemia. This straightforward test, which can distinguish between healthy, diseased, and carrier people at the population level, uses a drop of blood obtained on a specially made paper and direct PCR without any DBS pre-processing.

Through a united network of NHM and TSF, the cooperative screening operations will start in the Kolhan area of Jharkhand, which includes the districts of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, and Seraikela-Kharsawan. He went on to say, “This tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between CSIR-CCMB, TSF, and NHM will enable early detection of sickle cell anemia and raise awareness of the disease.”