If both husband and wife have mild thalassemia, they should undergo prenatal testing and genetic testing so as to reduce the birth rate of children with thalassemia.
Thalassemia is a common clinical disease of the blood system, a recessive hereditary blood disease, caused by the malfunction of the gene that constitutes red blood cells. Patients with thalassemia minor usually have no obvious symptoms, and some of them may occasionally feel a loss of physical strength.
If both husband and wife are homozygous carriers of the gene, the probability of the fetus developing thalassemia major is relatively high. There is no effective treatment for this disease, therefore, active prevention is the key.
Prevention of thalassemia requires prenatal testing and genetic testing for both spouses. Based on the results of the testing, couples can clarify the probability of their children developing the disease and the specific types of the disease that may occur as early as possible, therefore, premarital testing and prenatal genetic diagnosis are very important for thalassemia couples or families where at least one of the two partners has thalassemia.
In case of abnormal prenatal or genetic test results, prompt medical attention is recommended.