Thalassaemia
Sounds like 'thal-ass-ee-me-a'
Key points about thalassaemia
- Thalassaemia (thal-ass-ee-me-a) is a type of anaemia that you inherit from your parents – you're born with it.
- It happens because your red blood cells can't carry as much oxygen around your body as normal.
- Thalassaemia is diagnosed with a blood test.
- The content on this page comes from HealthInfo Canterbury(external link).
Thalassaemia is a type of anaemia that you inherit from your parents – you're born with it.
It happens because your red blood cells can't carry as much oxygen around your body as normal. This is because haemoglobin, which is the protein that carries oxygen around, is a different shape or size in people with thalassaemia.
Thalassaemia is most common in people who come from southeast and central Asia, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, India, Africa and Polynesia.
Thalassaemia is diagnosed with a blood test.
There are several types of thalassaemia. Some types don't cause health problems, while other types cause severe health problems.
If thalassaemia runs in your family, talk to your healthcare provider about getting tested.
The following links provide further information on thalassaemia and anaemia. Be aware that websites from other countries may contain information that differs from Aotearoa New Zealand recommendations.
Thalassaemia(external link) Patient Info, UK
Understanding your complete blood count results(external link) Healthinfo, NZ
Anaemia and abnormal blood counts(external link) UCL Hospitals, UK
Brochures
Anaemia fact sheet in a range of languages (external link)Health Information Translations, US, 2021 English(external link), Arabic(external link), Chinese simplified(external link), French(external link), Hindi(external link), Japanese(external link), Korean(external link), Nepali(external link), Russian(external link), Somali(external link), Spanish(external link)
References
- (external link)Thalassaemia(external link) Patient Info, UK, 2023
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Credits: Content shared between HealthInfo Canterbury, KidsHealth and Healthify He Puna Waiora as part of a National Health Content Hub Collaborative.
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