Fast Facts for Patients: Alpha Thalassemia

This booklet helps you understand alpha thalassemia (AT) so that you can talk to your medical team about your condition and its treatment. AT is a blood condition you are born with. You have to inherit a gene change from both parents to have AT. If you inherit a gene change from one parent, you are a carrier but don’t have the condition. If your partner is also a carrier, you have a chance of having a child with AT. AT is most common in people with ancestry from Southeast and South Asia, Africa,