Thalassemia may be inherited across generations.
Thalassemia (thalassaemia) is a hereditary disease associated with a deletion or defect of a chromosomal protein gene. Generally, if the grandparents carry the thalassaemia gene and the father and mother do not inherit the thalassaemia gene, the third generation will not inherit the thalassaemia gene.
If the grandparents carry the gene and one parent is a carrier of the gene and the other parent is normal, there is a 50% chance that the third generation will carry the gene.
If grandparents carry the thalassemia gene, and one parent is a carrier of the thalassemia gene and the other parent carries the thalassemia gene at the same time, even if both parents are asymptomatic (i.e., mild or quiescent), the third generation has a higher probability of carrying the thalassemia gene, and even showing obvious symptoms of anemia, i.e., “intergenerational inheritance.
Therefore, thalassemia may be passed on from one generation to another, and the severity of thalassemia is related to the number of abnormal genes carried by the patient. Patients carrying thalassemia genes should be given premarital guidance and genetic counseling, which can prevent the birth of severe thalassemia offspring.