Thalassaemia is a genetic blood disorder whereby the red blood cells are unable to carry a sufficient supply of oxygen for the body. Some of the common traits of thalassaemia patients are:

• Bone marrow cannot produce normal red blood cells
• Heart & other organs fail due to lack of oxygen
• Patients look pale and feel tired all the time
• If NOT treated, they usually die between 1 to 8 years old

In Asia more than 150 million people have the thalassaemia trait. These people are thalassaemia carriers. Many of them do not realize this as it does not cause them any illness. It can only be discovered through specific blood tests done by a doctor.

As the general public is still largely ignorant of existence of thalassaemia, it is one of our objectives to spread information of this potentially fatal blood disorder.

If a person has the thalassaemia trait, many of his or her relatives may also have it. If you know of someone who has the trait, kindly advise their famiy members to go for blood test as well.