Case Reports Transfusion Medicine 2022 Exercise 5: Thalassemia: A Global Disease with Heterogeneous Genetic Etiologies and Serious Complications

Authors

Jun Liu, MD, PhD 

Wen Lu, MD

Department of Pathology

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Boston, Massachusetts

Kevin Park, BS

Department of Medicine

University of California Los Angeles

Primary Audience: Pathologists and Clinical Scientists
Secondary Audience: Residents, Laboratory Technologist/Scientist (Includes all sub-specialty areas), Students, Pathologist Assistants,  Laboratory Directors and Educators

Upon completion of this activity, you will be able to:

·         explain the pathophysiology of thalassemia;

·         explain the genetic underpinning of thalassemia;

·         differentiate transfusion-dependent thalassemia (TDT) from non–transfusion-dependent thalassemia (NTDT);

·         explain why the pretransfusion hemoglobin targets may vary for patients with TDT;

·          discuss appropriate modifications of pretransfusion hemoglobin targets for patients with severe symptoms and comorbidities; and

·         explain the risks of transfusion therapy in patients with TDT and NTDT, such as iron overload and alloimmunization.