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| I am a healthy human being. Do I need to know about Thalassaemia? |
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Ansolutely yes! You could be a carrier of Thalassaemia (also called Thalassaemia Minor). |
Now, what is that? |
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You know, you must find out whether you are 'carrier' of Thalassaemia. |
Why ? |
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Because if you are a 'carrier' and your spouse/spouse-to-be is also one, then your future child could be in for serious trouble. |
How? Your child could be a Thalassaemia Major. What does that me? |
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It means that your child will survive only if given regular blood transfusion through out its life. |
How can this happen if both me and my spouse are healthy? |
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In most cases, 'carriers' of Thalassaemia are healthy. They pose no risk to themself. But it both partners in a marriage are 'carriers', there is a 25% chance, during each pregnancy, that their child will be a Thalassaemia Major. |
So what should I do? |
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You must do a blood test and find out if you are a 'carrier'? |
And then? |
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If you are not a 'carrier', you don't need to do anything. |
And if I am a 'carrier'? |
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If you are a 'carrier', you must check whether you spouse is also a 'carrier'. |
And if my spouse is not a 'carrier'? |
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You don't need to worry at all. |
And what if we are both 'carriers'? |
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You must realised that there is a 25% chance that your child will be a Thalassaemia Major. |
Does that mean that we cannot have a child if we are both 'carriers'? |
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That surely if the safest option. You could probably adopt a child. |
But what if we want our own biological child? |
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You could have your own biological child. But you must inform your 'gynaec' that you and your spouse and both 'carriers' of Thalassaemia. You must insist with the doctor for a Pre-Natal test on the foetus. The Pre-Natal test will tell you if foetus is affected (Thalassaemia Major) or non affected (Thalassaemia Minor or normal). And you must go ahead with having the child after taking a conscious decision accepting the possible consequences |
But how come nobody knows about this? |
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It is sad that nobody knows about this. And they only come to know that they are 'carriers' after they have given birth to a Thalassaemia Major child. By which time it is too late and their life is shattered. |
