Thalassaemia whats that?
Thalassaemia belongs to a family of genetic conditions affecting the human blood, known as Haemoglobin disorders or Haemoglobinopathies. Haemoglobin disorders are a group of conditions affecting haemoglobin, an important substance or protein of the human blood contained in the red blood cells, hence the name haemoglobin disorders or haemoglobinopathies.
Thalassaemia currently affects 300 000 –500 000 people worldwide. Research advances in the clinical care of thalassaemia have managed to transform thalassaemia from a fatal disease of childhood that it once was into a chronic, yet well-managed disease, increasing patients’ survival rate and improving their quality of life.
