KARACHI: Every year, between 5,000 and 10,000 children are born with thalassemia in Pakistan, where about 100,000 children are living with the inherited blood disorder and require an estimated 1.8 million blood bags each year to survive, Consultant and President of the Omair Sana Foundation Dr Saqib Ansari. Speaking at a Thalassemia Awareness Seminar and Blood Screening inauguration ceremony organized by the Department of Microbiology at the University of Karachi as part of Independence Week celebrations, Ansari said nearly 10 million Pakistanis are thalassemia minor (carriers). He urged families with a child suffering from thalassemia to ensure that close blood relatives, including uncles, aunts and cousins, undergo thalassemia screening. He also stressed that premarital thalassemia screening is essential, warning that when two carriers marry, the risk of having a child with thalassemia major increases significantly. During the event, a tree plantation campaign was also launched by KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Tufail Jokhio who planted a sapling at the department.