Learn more: http://www.danafarberbostonchildrens.org/thalassemia

Tracy Antonelli was diagnosed with thalassemia at the age of 4; her body can’t make enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells. When she and her husband were ready to start a family, they looked to China, where thalassemia is relatively prevalent, and found three special girls.

The care that the girls now receive at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Includes regular blood transfusions, medication to remove excess iron from their bodies, and careful monitoring.

The thalassemias are a group of inherited blood disorders in which the genes that produce hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body, are broken. As a result, the red blood cells do not contain enough hemoglobin, causing anemia that can range from mild to life threatening. Thalassemia can come in different forms depending on the genetic mutations causing it. The transfusion-dependent form, also called thalassemia major or Cooley’s Anemia, requires lifelong follow-up care and regular blood transfusions. Some other forms are more readily managed and may require little or no treatment.

Thalassemia Treatment at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s

At the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Thalassemia Program, our experts provide comprehensive care for children and adults with all forms of thalassemia. For many appointments and certain procedures, your child also can receive care at one of our satellite offices. Treatment for thalassemia depends on the subtype of the disorder, but may include:

– blood transfusions for anemia, based on severity
– regular and comprehensive monitoring for complications of thalassemia and of treatments
– iron chelation therapy, to remove excess iron from the body
– for certain cases, stem cell transplantation to replace the blood-forming stem cells with the defective hemoglobin gene(s)
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