The health authorities have agreed to provide the required facilities at Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children. Accordingly, the establishment of the unit will commence on 8 June, said the adviser of the organization Gynecologist, Dr Kalinga Nanayakkara.

Thalassaemia is an inherited condition affecting the blood and a child with the disease is born once in every four days in Sri Lanka, he said.

He further stated that a child born with Thalassaemia requires occasional blood transfusion starting from 5 months and daily medication to aid iron excretion.