Young thalassemia patient in Qamishli struggles to access treatment

Sorgul Shekho is unable to attend school due to her condition. Despite this, she speaks about her future ambitions. “I want to become a doctor and a painter,” she told Rudaw on Sunday. Asked why, she replied, “So that [I can make] people feel better.”

Her mother, Afaf Mahmoud, says the family is overwhelmed by the demands of ongoing medical care.

“She has Thalassemia major; her red blood cells die, and others survive,” Mahmoud said. “We give her a blood transfusion every 20 days. We have been treating her since she was four months old, providing blood and medication.”

According to Mahmoud, the only potential cure is a bone marrow transplant, which is far beyond the family’s financial means.

“The surgery she needs is called a bone marrow transplant. [It requires] $80,000, according to those who have undergone [the surgery],” she said. “Some who have undergone it died; besides death, their appearance would worsen, and their kidneys would shrink.”

Healthcare options in Rojava remain extremely limited. There are no specialized cancer or thalassemia treatment centers, aside from a blood transfusion center for children with thalassemia run by the Kurdish Red Crescent.

“Thalassemia has three levels: major, minor, and intermediate,” said Ahmed Haji, director of the Kurdish Red Crescent hospital for cancer and thalassemia. “The major type is the most difficult; [the patient] must change their blood every week or every 15 days.... Over 90% of the required blood is unavailable.”

Asked by Rudaw's reporter about the lack of facilities, Syrian Health Minister Musab al-Ali said during his visit to Rojava on Friday that the issue is included in the ministry’s long-term planning.

“The basic strategic plan of the health ministry for three years is published and has become known to everyone,” he said, adding that officials are assessing conditions in the region to “develop plans for improvement.”

Sorgul’s condition is part of a broader health crisis in Rojava, where displaced Kurds face severe shortages of life-saving medicines and limited access to care following January clashes between the Syrian Arab Army and Kurdish-led forces.

According to Qamishli’s health department, nearly 1,000 displaced people are currently ill, more than 400 of whom suffer from chronic diseases.

Displacement across Rojava has surged to nearly 300,000 people - far exceeding United Nations estimates - with most sheltering in the besieged Kurdish city of Kobane, Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees camps for internally displaced persons and refugees in Rojava, told Rudaw last week.

Viviyan Fetah contributed to this report from Qamishli.