There is no clear time for how long people with thalassemia generally live, because each person’s condition is different. Generally, thalassemia can be divided into light thalassemia, intermediate thalassemia, and heavy thalassemia, which corresponds to the approximate survival time for the normal life expectancy, 20 to 30 years, and 5 years.
1. Thalassemia minor: generally there are no obvious symptoms, and some patients even carry it for life, so it generally does not affect the normal life expectancy.
2. Intermediate thalassemia: Children with thalassemia of intermediate type are often found to develop the disease in early childhood, which is between severe and mild, so they can usually live 20~30 years.
3. Thalassemia major: patients with thalassemia major usually cannot survive after birth, and even if they survive, the time is very short, usually about 5 years.
Specific treatments include intermittent blood transfusion for maintenance, iron removal therapy such as Deferasirox, and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
It is recommended that the patient should go to the hospital in time to find out the condition of the disease, and give the corresponding treatment and management under the guidance of the doctor.