What is thalassaemia?
Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disease which is transmitted by a gene. It reduces the amount of haemoglobin your body can make, thus causing anaemia. What is anaemia? If you have too few red blood cells, or there is too little haemoglobin in them, you have anaemia. The most common is iron deficiency anaemia. This can happen if you don’t have enough iron in your diet. It can be cured by taking iron medicine. Thalassaemia is an inherited anaemia. It CANNOT be cured by taking any medicine. How is thalassaemia inherited? The thalassaemia gene is passed on from parent to child. 1. If both parents have the thalassaemia traits, the following can occur: • Chance of having a child with thalassaemia major is 25% • Chance of having a child with the thalassaemia trait is 50% • Chance of having a normal child is 25% 2. If only one parent has the thalassaemia trait, the following can occur: • Chance of having a child with the thalassaemia trait is 50% • Chance of having a normal child is 50% Fro
