The Punjab Assembly has approved the “Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025,” which requires all educational institutions in Punjab to conduct thalassemia testing for students during the admission process.

Under the newly enacted legislation, the government will establish an advisory council responsible for reviewing the test results.

Students must submit their test reports alongside their admission forms to the relevant boards.

The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will create a database to manage all test results, and strict penalties will be imposed for any unauthorized sharing of confidential information.

The law mandates that laboratories must send the test results to the PITB within ten days.

Additionally, the government has decided to provide free testing for underprivileged families, and special registration and financial assistance for patients in collaboration with NADRA are anticipated soon.

After the test results are available, the council will offer counseling to students diagnosed with genetic diseases.

Experts emphasize that conditions such as thalassemia and hemophilia often arise from cousin marriages, and prevention of these diseases can only occur through testing.

This law takes effect immediately and applies to all public and private educational institutions across Punjab. The bill will be submitted to the Governor of Punjab for final approval.

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The Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025 is a proposed legislation aimed at tackling the prevalence of thalassemia in the Punjab province of Pakistan.

The bill seeks to establish a comprehensive strategy and preventive measures to address this hereditary condition.