Haematology dan Blood Transfusion Unit, Patologi Department, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Jalan Langat, 41200 Klang, Selangor, Malaysia
Research Article
Thalassemia Carriers among Healthy Blood Donors
Author(s): Ezalia E*, Sharifah Zahra A, Irmi Elfina R, Elizabeth G, Wan Hayati MY, Norhanim A, Wahidah A, Chin Ym, Rahimah A and Zubaidah Z
Thalassemia is a common hereditary anaemia in Southeast Asia which may also be found among healthy blood donors. The established screening method is less sensitive and can miss donors with clinically silent Thalassemia. The Thalassemia screening tests may help in selection of truly healthy blood donors, hence providing the most functional red cell concentrates for blood transfusion. This is an extension study from our previous work, aiming to detect thalassemia trait among clinically asymptomatic blood donors. We performed Thalassemia screening in 738 healthy blood donors who were allowed for blood donation using full blood count and haemoglobin (Hb) analysis. After screening analyses using high performance liquid chromatography, capillary zone electrophoresis and agarose gel electrophoresis, 85 samples were excluded from the study due to inadequate volume for DNA analysis. Five hundr.. View more»