Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder that occurs when the body does not produce enough haemoglobin or when it produces abnormal forms of haemoglobin.

This is a result of a mutation in the DNA of cells that produce haemoglobin. When the quantity or quality of haemoglobin is decreased, the ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen also reduces, hence the red blood cells last shorter periods of time.

Some of the symptoms presented by a person with thalassaemia are weakness, fatigue, pale/yellowish skin, facial bone deformities, abdominal swelling, dark urine and shortness of breath. Complications of thalassemia are iron overload, infection, bone deformities enlarged spleen, heart problems and slowed growth rate.

Thalassaemia can be classified based on the specific part of haemoglobin affected ( alpha-thalassemia or beta-thalassemia) or based on the severity of thalassaemia (major or minor).

Thalassaemia is diagnosed through full blood count, haemoglobin electrophoresis, thin blood film morphology, mutational analysis, red cell indices and iron test.

These diagnostic tests are available at MedBioTechLab. Visit the booking site to get your blood screened.

References:

my.clevelandclinic.org

www.cdc.gov

www.mayoclinic.org