Can someone with thalassemia have healthy children?

Ask:

Recently, my wife and I had a health check-up, and the test results showed that we both carry the recessive gene for thalassemia. We are worried about whether we will be able to have healthy children, and we would appreciate your advice, doctor.

Nguyen Hoa ( Hanoi )

One case of a healthy baby being born despite both parents carrying the thalassemia gene.

Dr. Pham Minh Duc, Genetics Department, Medlatec Testing Center, answers:

Thalassemia (congenital hemolytic anemia) is the most common genetic disease in the world , with approximately 7% of people carrying the gene. Notably, Vietnam has a higher rate of gene carriers compared to the rest of the world.

According to statistics, the percentage of people carrying the thalassemia gene in Vietnam is 13%, with many ethnic groups having a thalassemia gene carrier rate of up to 30-40%, and the Kinh ethnic group having a rate of 9.8%.

Carriers often show no clinical symptoms, have no anemia, or only mild anemia, leading to them being unaware that they carry the disease gene.

If both parents are carriers of the gene, the probability of having a normal child is 25%, the probability of having a child who is a carrier of the disease gene is 50%, and there is a 25% risk of the child developing the disease.

To prevent having children with genetic diseases, several methods are recommended, such as premarital health screening, genetic testing (chromosomal analysis, recessive gene testing), and prenatal screening for pregnant women (Double Test, Triple Test, NIPT, etc.).

These are effective "keys" to help parents screen for and predict potential risks, preventing the birth of children with genetic diseases.

For families where both spouses carry recessive genes for genetic disorders, healthcare professionals recommend pregnancy under the guidance of a geneticist.

Parents need to understand the risks of having children with diseases and consider choosing assisted reproductive methods, proactively undergoing preimplantation genetic diagnosis instead of natural pregnancy, in order to have healthy babies.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/mac-tan-mau-bam-sinh-lieu-co-sinh-con-khoe-manh-192241220094057268.htm