What Are The Complications Of Thalassemia?

Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder that occurs when an individual has less hemoglobin and lower counts of red blood cells in their body than they should. Because red blood cells and hemoglobin are responsible for the delivery of oxygen to all of the tissues around the body, an affected individual will develop anemia and feel frequently fatigued. Thalassemia happens when an individual has mutations in the DNA of the cells responsible for producing hemoglobin. Most of these mutations can be passed from a parent to their child. The majority of thalassemia patients develop symptoms within the first several years of their life. Diagnosis is made upon specific characteristics identified in a blood test. Thalassemia can vary in severity from requiring no treatment to requiring blood infusions or a stem cell transplant. Several possible complications can occur in individuals with untreated thalassemia.

Increased Risk Of Infection

A common and dangerous complication that occurs in thalassemia patients is an increased risk of infection. Thalassemia can cause an individual's body to become immunocompromised or a state where the body's infection-fighting defenses are not functioning correctly. The mechanism that causes an immune compromise in these individuals involves the spleen, which sits just under the ribs on the left side of the abdomen. The spleen is responsible for several things including the production of blood cells, monitoring blood for infections, and filtering the blood of wastes. Once the spleen detects an infection in the blood, the individual's body can start the process of fighting it off. However, a thalassemia patient has an overwhelmed spleen. Because the bone marrow cannot make enough healthy blood cells on its own, the spleen tries to compromise by attempting to make more blood cells than it usually would. This effort results in an impairment of the other functions the spleen is responsible for performing including the monitoring of blood for infections. When the spleen is not monitoring as it should be, the patient's body will be prone to invasion by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites that can multiply into a full-blown infection.

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