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NT Bureau
Chennai, Jan 31:
 

Actor Sivakumar giving a yellow card to a girl at the launch of Yellow Project. Also seen are MediIndia Hospitals chairman Dr T S Chandrasekar, his wife Dr D C Sharmila and Dr S K Acharya from AIIMS.

        MedIndia Charitable Trust, the research unit affiliated to MedIndia Hospitals, had taken up free hepatitis B screening, vaccination and follow-up blood tests for one lakh children in the next five years under a Project Yellow campaign.

        A social organisation that provided medicare services to the poor, the trust organised a grand function on Saturday to kick-off Project Yellow. In his welcome address, Dr T S Chandrasekar, chairman, MediIndia Hospitals, said two people died every minute from hepatitis B infection in the world and 3.5 - 5 per cent of the Indian population carried this virus.

        He said hepatitis B was 50 to 100 times more dangerous than HIV, even as the latest treatment for the virus was costly and hence, unaffordable to most of the population. 'Preventive vaccination is the best step from contracting hepatitis B. On its part, MedIndia is offering technical support, lab facilities for blood test, vaccine storage, HR services, documentation and medical records for treating the virus,' he said and called for liberal donations for Project Yellow.

        While flagging off the project, actor Sivakumar requested the corporates and philanthropists to donate liberally for this project against hepatitis B being undertaken by MedIndia Charitable Trust. He also released pamphlets for public information on the project and gave away yellow cards to poor children for free vaccination.

        In his MedIndia Oration, Dr S K Acharya, head, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said parents should recognise the importance of preventive vaccination and come forward to make use of MedIndia's Project Yellow to benefit their children. He also advised healthcare workers to take preventable measures like using disposable gloves while drawing blood samples, screening for hepatitis B during blood donation and transfusion and should have compulsorily vaccinated against the virus.

        The chief guest Dr V Shanta, chairman, Adyar Cancer Institute, presented the gold medal and citation to Dr Acharya for his oration. In her address, Dr Shanta stressed on prevention of liver cancer which was caused due to chronic infection of hepatitis B. She said it was the social responsibility of the medical community and public spirited organisations to donate vaccines for hepatitis B, especially to immunise children against the dreadful virus.