Is there a test for thalassemia?

Blood tests and family genetic studies can show whether an individual has thalassemia or is a carrier. If both parents are carriers, they may want to consult with a genetic counselor for help in deciding whether to conceive or whether to have a fetus tested for thalassemia.
Prenatal testing can be done around the 11th week of pregnancy using chorionic villi sampling (CVS). This involves removing a tiny piece of the placenta. Or, the fetus can be tested with amniocentesis around the 16th week of pregnancy. In this procedure, a needle is used to take a sample of the fluid surrounding the baby for testing.
Assisted reproductive therapy is also an option for carriers who don't want to risk giving birth to a child with thalassemia. A new technique, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), used in conjunction with in vitro fertilization, may enable parents who have thalassemia or carry the trait to give birth to healthy babies. Embryos created in-vitro are tested for the thalassemia gene before being implanted into the mother, allowing only healthy embryos to be selected.

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Can Thalassemias Be Prevented?

Thalassemias can't be prevented because they're inherited (passed on from parents to children). However, these bleeding disorders can be found before birth through prenatal tests. Family genetic studies may help find out whether people have missing or altered hemoglobin genes that cause thalassemias. (For more information, see "How Are Thalassemias Diagnosed?") If you know of family members who have thalassemias and you're thinking of having children, consider talking with your doctor and/or a genetic counselor. They can help determine your risk for passing on the disorder to your child.

What do we know about heredity and thalassemia

Thalassemia is a group of inherited or genetic diseases that affect the body's ability to produce hemoglobin, usually resulting in anemia. Hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells, is necessary for carrying oxygen throughout the body. Thalassemia is passed to children by parents who carry the gene for the disease. There are many different types of thalassemia, ranging from mild to life-threatening or fatal without blood transfusions and appropriate treatment. Thalassemia trait, also known as Mediterranean anemia, is one of the most common genetic disorders. Rarely resulting in illness, it affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. Each year about 100,000 babies are born with severe forms of thalassemia. The disease occurs most often in people of Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, South and Southeast Asian, and African ancestry. The type and severity of the illness is determined by the specific genetic abnormality present. Today, better understanding of the ca...

Who Carries Thalassemia? Its a big question and i try to give answer.

Thalassemia is a inheritable blood complaint that affects the product of hemoglobin, a protein responsible for carrying oxygen in the red blood cells. It's inherited in an autosomal sheepish manner, which means that both parents must carry a specific gene mutation for their child to be affected. Thalassemia is most generally set up in populations from regions where malaria is or was current, similar as the Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia, and corridor of Africa. still, it's important to note that thalassemia can do in individualities of any race. still, there's a 25 chance with each gestation that their child will inherit two shifted genes and develop thalassemia major, the most severe form of the complaint, If both parents carry a thalassemia gene mutation. However, the child may inherit the gene mutation as well, but they will generally have a milder form of the...

Disease of Thalassemia

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