I am Thal Beta and my husband is Thal Alpha Minor

Hi All,

I am very new to this site, and VERY happy that it exists, there is so much I want to know about Thal!

My own case I have known I was Thal my whole life, I am also anaemic and have a low haemoglobin count. I do take iron supplements and deal with the symptoms as best I can, its never really been too much of an issue.

My mother had been telling me for years that I should have any potential partners tested for Thal, she was fed some worst case scenario advice from a doctor once and has been scared witless for me since. My partner had no symptoms or family history so we took for granted that he could possibly be Thalassemic, and he did not get tested till very late in our relationship. It took 3 blood tests to confirm but he definately is Thal Alpha, by this time we were very much in love and on our way to being married, so there was no option of walking away for either of us. 

I have tried looking into the mix of Thal Beta and Alpha and the effects on children, but have found nothing (that I could understand anyways). I will see a genetic counsellor before having children, but wanted to know if anyone knows anything about this and can help me understand what may be in store.

Thanks in advance for any advise or comments

Hi Loz ,
 
  to the family ,
 

Umair

Dear Loz,

Welcome to our site.  I think further testing will tell you whether there are any concerns with your beta thal and your boyfriends alpha thal.  Sometimes there is concern, depending on that mutation that your husband has - other times there is no concern at all.  I think that genetic counseling is wise.  Either way it is very possible to have healthy children, just be sure to get the information that you need. 

Best of luck and we are here to guide you,

Sharmin

Hi Loz and welcome,

Alpha and beta thalassemia affect two different sets of genes. A child with both traits will actually have a better balance of alpha and beta globins than would a carrier of either trait alone. There is no danger in combining the two, although a child with both may have a lower than normal hemoglobin level.

Your mom did the absolute best thing by insisting on testing and you should be just as insistent with your children in the future. They will all need to be tested so they know which, if any traits they inherit, so they can also have their future partners tested. This will help avoid all those worst case scenarios.

hi, i'm newbie in here..
I'm so thank you there is a topic like this.
I also have thalassemia beta trait and my partner has thal alfa trait.
How about the possibility of my chidren if we have kids?
Andy said that "There is no danger in combining the two, although a child with both may have a lower than normal hemoglobin level."
Is it still ok if a child have a lower hemoglobin level? What is the  effect for his/her life?
If the child have a alfa trait n beta trait, he/she will not get thalassemia mayor?

thank you

Hi Caroline ,
  . hope you will find this community , very helping , caring and encouraging .BEST OF LUCK .....

Best Regards
Take Care
Umair

Hi Caroline and welcome to the site.

Having a thal major is a result of having different mutation that you and your partner have. In your case having a mutation in the alpha gene will result in lowering the number of alpha in the system and therefore it will make a balance with the beta too.

As for the low HB, i usually live with a low one and i am doing fine. Also the use of good supplementation, nutrition and exercise is one of the very important thins to consider

manal

hhhmmm i see..
so is it will be balance if a child have lose alfa n beta?
Is there any people who have thal alfa trait and also have thal beta trait?
How about that people life, does he/she need a transfusion or they just have anemia?


thanks

Hi Caroline,

If your children inherit both alpha and beta trait, they will be minors and will not need transfusions. Their hemoglobin level may be lower than normal but that is common in minor and not a big concern. The alpha and beta globin will be in better balance than it is in either form of minor, so there also won't be the stray unmatched globins in their blood which can sometimes cause clotting issues for minors (especially during pregnancy). Folic acid supplements would be highly recommended for all, including yourself and your husband if either of you have any anemia.

Interestingly, carrying alpha trait can make a beta major's condition less severe, partly due to the better balance of globin chains.

My husband is a carrier of both alpha and beta thal trait - and he does better than I do.

My son did not inherit his alpha gene, if he had it would have made his thal milder (I think). 

Sharmin

Caroline,

First of all welcome and I am glad you joined this site in the confusion, you are having in your mind. Not, that we are all experts but there are some real life people - who shed knowledge on important aspects of thalassemia and how to proceed.

The 1st question I would ask is for you to make sure you are only a Beta Thal Minor and NOT having a silent gene which carries the Alpha Thal Trait too. The reason is, Alpha Thal Trait(or called Minor) is pretty difficult to diagonise with simple blood test like CBC (Complete Blood Count) or Hemoglobin Electrophoresis. DNA Testing would be the best way to find out exactly - if you are carrying any Alpha Trait gene. Sorry, I am not trying to throw a curve ball in your already complex situation, but to proceed - that is really important to study yourself and your partner.

The other part - Your partner - You say he is an Alpha Thal Minor. Do you know - how many genes is he missing? Sorry, I have to run to get something done..... I just want you to check how many gene mutation he has?

Whooa thank you for the fast replied for andy, sharmin , narendra and manal also nice friend..^^
It makes more clear about my confussion about our condition
For narendra,
Actually, we don't take the analysis DNA yet, we just took the premarital check up a month ago.
So I don't know whether i have thal alpha or not and about my partner, I also don't know how many gen he's missing(one or two).
Our premarital check up showed that I have thal beta trait and my partner has chance to hemoglobinopati(Thal Alpha) mild version which cannot be remove. I don't know what the meaning about " has chance to .... which cannot be remove".
The Hb level from my partner is 13.1 (Normal: 13.2-17.3) and mine is 10.9 (Normal: 11.7 -15.5).
and both of us have lower MC point. My doctor said that in our condition there was 25 % to get children have a thalassemia major. It makes me confuse in that time because I know from some web that thal alpha n thal beta are involve different genes.
So, What do you all think about our condition above?

thank for all your opinion ^^

Caroline, in this case a DNA anylsis is important.

My doctor said that in our condition there was 25 % to get children have a thalassemia major

What your doctor said is right IF both of you are beta thal carriers, but if one is a beta and the other is only an alph, then your child will be a minor not a major. So you have to make sure of the kind of mutation first and the DNA is the only accurate test for this

Please keep us updated

manal

thanks for all friend's advice...
It is really really help us..
I'll discuss with my partner about to take an DNA analysis.

Nice to know you all
God Bless you
^^

Hi everybody,

I'm a newbie too and very grateful for all these posts. Blood tests have shown that i am thal alpha minor while my husband is thal beta minor. We have just gotten married late last year and would like to try for a baby. Before we do that, should we go for DNA analysis or genetic counselling or both? Where could we go for them? We live in the state of Penang in Malaysia.

Thanks.