28 February is the World Rare Diseases Day, and Analiza has signed up to the FEDER (Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases) initiative to raise awareness of the problems faced by sufferers.

A rare disease takes an average of five years for a diagnosis to be made, while ten or more years are needed for a suitable diagnosis in 20% of cases.

Whenever there is a delay in diagnosis:

• The patient receives no support or treatment (40.9% of cases).
• They receive unsuitable treatment (26.7% of cases).
• Their illness worsens (26.8% of cases).

Travelling in search of diagnosis and treatment

• Nearly 50% of patients have had to travel outside their home province in recent years due to their illness.
• Of these, 40% travelled five or more times in search of diagnosis or treatment.
• 17% of patients could not travel even though they needed to.

An early diagnosis can be key to preserving the quality of life of people suffering from a rare disease.

For further information about rare diseases, visit the website (in Spanish): https://enfermedades-raras.org