On June 8, a new shipment of life-saving plasmaderived medicinal products meant for the Palestinian population was delivered to the competent authorities in Ramallah. The shipment, organised by the National Blood Centre in collaboration with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), brought to the Palestinian territories 3,648 vials of coagulation Factor VIII, 544 vials of Factor IX and 416 vials of Prothrombin Complex. These medicinal products, produced thanks to plasma donated by Italian volunteer donors, exceed the national requirement and are intended for patients suffering from haemophilia and other severe coagulopathies, currently deprived of regular access to therapies due to the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

The delivery of life-saving drugs takes place within the Haemo_PAL project, coordinated by CNS and Istituto Superiore di Sanità with the support of AICS. A project that since 2021 aims to strengthen clinical centers for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital haemorrhagic diseases and haemoglobinopathies in Palestine. The project also includes training activities for Palestinian personnel in Italy.

The third cycle of internships was held last May, organized with Fondazione EMO and Fondazione For ANEMIA – partners of Haemo-PAL -, to promote practical learning and the sharing of Italian best practices by Palestinian general practitioners, pediatricians, haematologists, orthopedists, physiotherapists, nurses and laboratory technicians. Participants had the opportunity to support their Italian colleagues in daily clinical activities, specialising in the management of patients affected by haemophilia, thalassemia and other rare blood diseases.

The internships were held at some of the Italian centres of excellence for the treatment of thalassemia and other haemoglobinopathies, such as the Hospital of Perugia, the Dulbecco Hospital of Catanzaro, the Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico of Milan, the Policlinico Umberto I of Rome and the Gaslini Hospital of Genoa.

Since 2021, more than 60 Palestinian healthcare professionals have been able to benefit from Haemo-PAL’s in-person and remote training courses, and 23 professionals, despite the understandable difficulties due to the ongoing crisis, have managed to participate in the clinical training programs in the field.

“We are proud to contribute with our efforts to the health of people affected by serious pathologies whose therapies, also due to the very serious humanitarian crisis underway, are increasingly at risk every day – comments the Director of the CNS, Vincenzo De Angelis – This intervention is part of the praiseworthy activity of international cooperation that the National Blood Centre carries out with commitment, and which in the past has already seen us collaborate with countries such as Albania, Afghanistan, El Salvador, India and others. This is a concrete testimony of how sharing knowledge and resources can make a difference”.

Haemo_PAL Project
Started in 2021, the Haemo_PAL project aims to strengthen the diagnostic, therapeutic and training capacity of Palestinian centers, thanks to an integrated approach that includes:

  • sending life-saving drugs,
  • establishment of a national registry of congenital haematological diseases,
  • shared diagnostic-therapeutic protocols,
  • the setting up of specialised laboratories,
  • in-person and remote training of healthcare personnel.

The project is based on the collaboration between Italian health institutions, partner Regions (Emilia-Romagna, Marche, Tuscany and Umbria) and local Palestinian partners, with the support and funding of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS).

What is Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a rare genetic disease caused by a defect in blood clotting. Affected patients lack coagulation Factor VIII or IX, proteins essential to stop bleeding. According to the World Federation of Hemophilia (2021), there are an estimated 815,000 cases worldwide, of which approximately 277,000 are severe.

What is thalassemia
Thalassemia is a disease that is part of recessive hereditary blood disorders, characterised by reduced or absent haemoglobin synthesis, which causes a defect in oxygen transport and is degenerative in nature. Thalassemia is very common in Mediterranean areas such as Africa, southern Spain, Sicily and Sardinia, where the rate of the disease is up to 12 percent.