In a bid to help the Aborigines fight against rare diseases, the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders is offering Aboriginal newborns a free checkup for over 20 metabolic disorders from Oct. 1 this year to the end of next year.
The checkup usually costs about NT$400 to NT$500 and needs to be paid by the parents themselves.
During this period, Aboriginal parents only need to bring along their household registration booklet with their newborns to the hospital for free checkups.
A-mu, an Aboriginal boy, had his first seizure when he was only eight days old. As a child afflicted by a rare disorder called Maple Syrup Urine Disease, he is not able to dissolve proteins he has ingested, so his parents have to watch over his diet carefully.
A-mu was again admitted to the hospital last month and was only released last week because there was too much protein in his body.
So far only 20 cases of the disease have been reported in Taiwan, but 14 of them are Aboriginal children. The foundation yesterday pointed out that it was easier for Aboriginal children to contract rare disorders due to their specific genetic structure, but the Aboriginal people were also the ones with the least resources to deal with problems like these.
The foundation estimated that they would be helping 8,000 aboriginal newborns with this project and will be spending NT$3.2 million.
"About 60 percent of new parents are able to pay for checkups, but we are concerned about the 40 percent who cannot pay for the checkup," said Tseng Min-chieh (曾敏傑), the foundation's chief executive officer.
"We are helping the Aboriginal people now with free checkups, but in the end we hope that the government can provide the examination for free for every newborn child," Tseng said.
The foundation is also asking the public to donate for the same project in 2005. Those interested can call the foundation at (02) 2521-0717 for further details, or wire money to the foundation's post office account, No. 19343551.
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