Thalassemias Causes and their Types
What is Thalassemias? Thalassemias are a group of blood disorders that affect the way the body makes hemoglobin. It's made up of alpha globin and beta globin. The body contains more red blood cells than any other type of cell, and each has a life span of about 4 months. Each day, the body produces new red blood cells to replace those that die or are lost from the body. With thalassemia, the red blood cells are destroyed at a faster rate, leading to anemia , a condition that can cause fatigue and other complications. Thalassemias are inherited conditions — they're carried in the genes and passed on from parents to children. People who are carriers of a thalassemia gene show no thalassemia symptoms and might not know they're carriers. If both parents are carriers, they can pass the disease to their kids. Thalassemias are not contagious. Types of Alpha Thalassemia Alpha globin is made by four genes and one or more can be mutated or missing, so there are four ki...