Thalassaemia in Scots

Haemoglobinopathies in immigrant families

“…The fact that only about 50%/ of thalassaemia carriers will show a raised foetal haemoglobin emphasises the greater value of haemoglobin A2 Screening tests have been applied to large hospital populations and are being used in clinical anaemias with surprising results. Thus the identification of thalassaemia in a family of pure Scottish ancestry (Buchanan, Kinlock, Hutchinson, Pinkerton and Cassidy, 1963) and in the South of England (Roberts, 1963) demonstrate the value of these techniques. It is strongly recommended that regular screening tests for abnormal haemoglobin should 'be used in the increased coloured population of the country-particularly as part of the routine testing of pregnant women.…”