Patient: Hello doctor, I have been suffering from thalassemia since I was a child, it is not particularly serious, and now I have grown up with a large spleen. Liu Jiajun, Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University: Hello! From your description, it seems that you have thalassemia minor. The main cause of thalassemia is a decrease in the synthesis of hemoglobin chains, resulting in abnormal red blood cell morphology, which is eventually destroyed mainly in the spleen (i.e. hemolysis), thus leading to clinical manifestations such as anemia, jaundice and splenomegaly. Therefore, splenectomy can reduce the symptoms of anemia. There are usually no serious complications after splenectomy, and occasionally severe or fulminant infections can occur (but the chances are rare and manageable). In addition, secondary elevation of platelets may occur. These complications are manageable. You can feel free to go to your local hospital or come to our three hospitals for surgery. We wish you a speedy recovery. Patient: Thank you, Dr. Liu, for your help. I would also like to ask, is there no better way than removing the spleen? I usually don’t have any problems, and I am in good health. It’s just that when I have a cold, my face looks bad, and it’s not easy to get well after a short period of time. Liu Jiajun, Department of Hematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University: I guess you are mildly anemic, so if you don’t have any special discomfort, you can avoid surgery. Because splenectomy is only to reduce the symptoms but not to cure it. At present, there is no specific medicine for thalassemia, and the cure is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, but it is costly and has some risks. Thanks for the consultation!