Affiliations 

  • 1 Universiti Putra Malaysia
  • 2 University of Malaya
  • 3 Institute for Medical Research
Medical Journal of Malaysia, 2006;61(2):217-220.
MyJurnal

Abstract

Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder and is a significant public health problem in Malaysia, with many not knowing they are carrying the genes for thalassaemia. The two major forms are alpha and beta thalassaemia. An individual can co-inherent both the alpha and beta thalassaemia genes. This study determined the frequency of concurrent carriers of alpha thalassaemia in 231 beta thalassaemia carriers. Gap-PCR was done on extracted DNA of the beta thalassaemia samples to check for alpha thalassaemia 1 molecular defect. 8 (3.5%) samples were found to have concurrently inherited the alpha thalassaemia 1(--SEA}) deletion. The significant carrier rate for alpha thalassaemia 1 indicates the need for the implementation of DNA analysis to complement thalassaemia screening in high-risk populations.