Strengthening Education to Bridge the Thalassemia Care Gap
Thalassemia is a common inherited autosomal recessive disorder which is characterized by reduced or absent hemoglobin chain synthesis, resulting in various severities of anemia 1 . These are the commonest among single-gene disorders2 . The vast majority of Beta thalassemia mutations are point mutations and small insertions or deletions of one or two bases2 . There are two main types of thalassemia: Alpha thalassemia occurs when a gene or genes related to the alpha globin protein are absent or mutated. When similar gene defects affect production of the beta globin protein, it is called â thalassemia. â thalassemia include groups of disorders showing marked variation ranging from mild anemia to severe life-threatening condition.