Ranchi: State govt will soon launch a statewide screening campaign to identify individuals suffering from sickle cell anaemia.Speaking at an event at Ranchi Sadar Hospital on Friday to observe the World Sickle Celle Awareness Day, nodal officer (blood cell) of the state chapter of National Health Mission, Dr. Pramod Kumar Sinha, said, “A state-level special survey and screening campaign will be rolled out. Children aged below five years and individuals aged between 18-30 years will be screened for free.”Sinha said the timeline for the rollout has not been worked out yet. “In the past one year, around 27 lakh people across the state were screened for sickle cell anaemia so far,” Sinha said. As many as 3,315 were identified as sickle cell gene carriers and 2,099 were identified as sickle cell anaemia patients from 2023 to 2025.He further said the state govt is providing free blood transfusion facilities for patients suffering from sickle cell anaemia.Ranchi civil surgeon Dr Prabhat Kumar during the event, said that screening for sickle anaemia is available free of cost at Ranchi Sadar Hospital and all community health centres across the district.“Although sickle cell anaemia is a genetic disease, it is preventable, and its impact can be significantly reduced through timely screening, awareness and appropriate treatment. At present, sickle cell screening has also been incorporated into routine antenatal care examinations of pregnant women, enabling early identification of risks during pregnancy and ensuring appropriate counselling and management,” Kumar said.Kumar appealed to the public to undergo sickle cell screening and promote premarital testing so that future generations can be protected from the disease.