Newborn Screening for α-Thalassemia — Keeping Up with Globalization

Thalassemias are inherited disorders of hemoglobin synthesis. In α-thalassemia, the biosynthesis of the α-globin subunit of adult hemoglobin, hemoglobin A, is deficient. In β-thalassemia, β-globin synthesis is diminished. 1 Among the most common single-gene disorders in humans, thalassemias are a cause of substantial morbidity and mortality in Asia and the Mediterranean basin. 2 Symptomatic thalassemia has historically been an uncommon illness in the United States. However, as Lal et al. report in this issue of the Journal, 3 a moderately severe symptomatic form of α-thalassemia, hemoglobin H (HbH) disease, is being encountered with increasing frequency as Asian migration increases to the West Coast . . .