World Thalassaemia Day 2023:
World Thalassaemia Day is celebrated on May 8, every year.
- Thalassaemia is the name for a group of inherited conditions that affect a substance in the blood called haemoglobin.
- People with thalassaemia produce either no or too little haemoglobin, which is used by red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body.
- Thalassemia can cause anaemia, leaving you fatigued.
- It mainly affects people of Mediterranean, south Asian, southeast Asian and Middle Eastern origin.
- It is caused by faulty genes that affect the production of haemoglobin.
- A child can only be born with thalassaemia if they inherit these faulty genes from both parents.
- It’s also possible to be a “carrier” of thalassaemia, also known as having the thalassaemia trait.
