Thalassaemia

Thalassaemia are a number of different disorders were there is defective production of one of the chains of the haemoglobin molecule. Usually haemoglobin is made up of two alpha globin chains and two beta globin chains, each of which has a haem molecule attached. In the Thalassaemias there is failure of production of one of these chains (and so called either alpha thalassaemia or beta thalassaemia). If both genes coding for formation of the globin chains are defective then there may be severe disease and death occurring within the first year of life. If only one gene is defective it is termed thalassaemia trait, which may cause no more than a mild anaemia.
 
 
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