Thalassemia “A Life Threatening Disorder” & Its Prevention

“If your children is thalassemia patient, then you are responsible of that”

Thalassemia is a hereditary (any character which transfer from parents to offspring through genes) blood disorder, which result in many abnormalities in human body. Thalassemia result in the production of abnormal hemoglobin of red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a protein molecule which responsible for transfer of oxygen molecules from lungs to whole body. As our body cellular functions relay on oxygen availability when body don’t get proper oxygen it may result in stork, pale yellow coloring of skin, hypoxia (oxygen deficiency in body), fatigue, time to time fever, weakness, slow mitosis (growth rate), facial bone deformities (teeth size become large then normal), uncontrolled swelling of abdomen. The major abnormality of thalassemia is that the person having major thalassemia their body bone marrow cannot able to produce red blood cells. Due to which they need blood after every 3 month, 1 month or in somehow after 15 days by mean of drip. Volunteer donate blood for them having same blood group, except donation there is no other alternate of blood because blood is only component of body which cannot artificially synthesized in laboratory.

          There are two main category of thalassemia patient, one having thalassemia minor condition (there body contain thalassemia genes but they do not show any symptoms, their body produce red blood cells and do not get blood artificially and response normal) the other person having thalassemia major genes having all abnormalities discuss above. The main issue is that when two thalassemia minor patient get married there is 25% chances of major thalassemia or beta thalassemia patient, 25% normal and 50% chances of thalassemia minor patient. If one person is normal and other is thalassemia minor patient, then there is chance 50% chance of normal children and 50% chance of thalassemia minor patient.

As a Pakistan citizen in Pakistan every year more than 10 million carrier of thalassemia minor and more than 5000 children having thalassemia major are diagnosed every year. As Pakistani citizens it is our responsibilities is to aware people about prevention precautions about thalassemia.  Main prevention of thalassemia is screening before marriages (CBC test and total special hemoglobin test) and main important preventions of thalassemia is avoiding cousin’s marriages. If married person is screen positive about thalassemia, then they have to avoid child births.