The Punjab Assembly has approved the “Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025,” which will require all educational institutions in Punjab to make thalassemia testing mandatory during admission process.
Under the new legislation, the Punjab government will constitute an advisory council which will be responsible for screening and reviewing test results.
The students will be required to submit their thalassemia test reports to their educational institutions along with their admission forms. The admission forms will be sent to the students’ relevant boards.
The Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) will be responsible for gathering and creating a database to manage all test results.
According to details, the new act also stipulates that the laboratories must send the test results to the PTIB within ten days.
Following the sharing of test results, the advisory council will offer counseling to those students diagnosed with thalassemia.
The purpose behind the legislation is to create awareness about genetic disorders and prevent this disorder through rigorous testing.
Health experts suggest that genetic disorders such as thalassemia and hemophilia are often the result of cousin marriages.
Multiple researches point out that cousin marriage is too common across the country. 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.
Read more: Turkish entrepreneur calls out Maria B. for unpaid dues
Turkish-Pakistani influencer Turkan Atay has taken to her social media pages to call out popular clothing brand founder, Maria B, for allegedly not paying her for a self-funded shoot in Turkey.
Turkan Atay took to her Instagram account, boasting more than 800,000 followers, to post multiple detailed videos recounting the entire incident with details. “In the beginning of 2025, Maria B wanted to collaborate with me for a shoot in Istanbul. I funded the entire production from professional photographers to renting the location in Istanbul. I have the screenshots of entire interaction with her team,” she stated.
