ABSTRACT
Iran, as a country located in the Thalassemia Belt, has made great progress in thalassemia prevention and treatment. The thalassemia prevention program was implemented in 1995 and the country-wide thalassemia treatment network, consisting of 64 medical universities and faculties, is active. The acknowledgment of the status of thalassemia treatment and prevention in Iran can be of significance to researchers of the countries affected with thalassemia. In the present research, the database of the Treatment Deputy Office of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education and that of the Hemovigilance Network of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, were used. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences, version 23. The findings show 90.13% reduction in the expected cases of new ß-thalassemia (ß-thal) births in 2015. Moreover, out of 18,983 hemoglobinopathy patients, 17,342 are ß-thal major (ß-TM) and ß-thal intermedia (ß-TI) patients covered by 198 medical centers. Out of the total number of blood donations in Iran, 19.17% are allocated to thalassemia treatment. Iran has reached an acceptable level of success in thalassemia prevention and the preparation of safe and adequate blood. Iran's achievements can be adapted to other developing countries, particularly in the Middle East.
Subject(s)
beta-Thalassemia/epidemiology , Adolescent , Adult , Age Distribution , Child , Child, Preschool , Disease Management , Female , Geography, Medical , Hemoglobinopathies/diagnosis , Hemoglobinopathies/epidemiology , Hemoglobinopathies/prevention & control , Hemoglobinopathies/therapy , Humans , Infant , Iran/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , Public Health Surveillance , Registries , Young Adult , beta-Thalassemia/diagnosis , beta-Thalassemia/prevention & control , beta-Thalassemia/therapyABSTRACT
ß-Thalassemia major (ß-TM) is an inherited disease and efforts have been made in several countries to reduce the number of affected births. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the Iranian thalassemia prevention program, considered to be an important program in the region. The time period of the present study ranges from 2007-2009, during which new thalassemic births and the relevant causes were evaluated throughout the country. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO), Tehran, Iran. A questionnaire was forwarded to all blood centers of the IBTO so as to obtain information about the new cases of thalassemia and the causes of these thalassemic births. Provincial thalassemia societies also received the questionnaires so that screening and prenatal diagnosis (PND) errors would be recorded. The results showed that 755 new thalassemia cases were born during 2007-2009 with the average fall in affected thalassemia births of 80.82%. The main cause of the new births was attributed to unregistered "timeless religious marriages" based on the conventions of the Sunni community which accounted for 43.17% of all new cases mainly having occurred in Sistan & Baluchestan Province. Not using PND was evaluated to be another main cause. Although the prevention program has led to a great reduction in thalassemic births, new measures are required, including research on how to make the program compatible with social and economic conventions and norms of Sistan & Baluchestan Province. The province of Kohgiluyeh Boyer Ahmad also needs to be revisited in terms of the program efficacy.
