β-Thalassemia in Iran: Things Everyone Needs to Know About This Disease

Iran, as a country located in the Thalassemia Belt, has made great progress in thalassemia prevention and treatment. The thalassemia prevention program was implemented in 1995 and the country-wide thalassemia treatment network, consisting of 64 medical universities and faculties, is active. The acknowledgment of the status of thalassemia treatment and prevention in Iran can be of significance to researchers of the countries affected with thalassemia. In the present research, the database of the Treatment Deputy Office of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education and that of the Hemovigilance Network of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization, were used. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences, version 23. The findings show 90.13% reduction in the expected cases of new β-thalassemia (β-thal) births in 2015. Moreover, out of 18,983 hemoglobinopathy patients, 17,342 are β-thal major (β-TM) and β-thal intermedia (β-TI) patients covered by 198 medical centers. Out of the total number of blood donations in Iran, 19.17% are allocated to thalassemia treatment. Iran has reached an acceptable level of success in thalassemia prevention and the preparation of safe and adequate blood. Iran's achievements can be adapted to other developing countries, particularly in the Middle East.