Govt proposes to treat rare disease patients at one-time treatment cost of up to Rs 15L

New Delhi: The government will provide a financial support of up to Rs 15 lakh under its Rashtriya Arogaya Nidhi scheme for one-time treatment of rare diseases, according to the much-awaited draft Rare Diseases Policy.

Under the draft National Policy for Rare Diseases released on Monday, beneficiaries would not be limited to Below Poverty Line families, but will also cover 40 per cent of the population eligible as per norms of the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana for their treatment in government tertiary hospitals only.

The Union Health Ministry intends to notify certain medical institutes as Centers of Excellence for Rare Diseases.

Woman loses tongue to cancer, gets new one made from her arm

A 36-year-old woman from the UK, who lost her tongue due to cancer, has got a new one made from a part of her arm. Stephanie Wigglesworth, who hails from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, was suffering from small ulcers in her mouth and her tongue started to feel numb. She was left devastated when tests revealed…