Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that causes your body to have less hemoglobin than normal. Hemoglobin enables red blood cells to carry oxygen. Thalassemia can cause anemia, leaving you fatigued. * Causes of Thalassemia: Thalassemia is caused by mutations in the DNA of cells that make hemoglobin — the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body. The mutations associated with thalassemia are passed from parents to children. * Types of Thalassemia: In thalassemia, the production of either the alpha or beta chains are reduced, resulting in either alpha-thalassemia or beta-thalassemia. * Risk Factors of Thalassemia: Factors that increase your risk of thalassemia include: Family history of thalassemia. Certain ancestry. * Treatment of Thalassemia: Blood Transfusion Iron chelation Therapy Folic Acid Supplements Blood & Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplantation.
