[Hemoglobinopathy in the county of Copenhagen]

In Copenhagen County, haemoglobinopathy was centralized to the Department of Haematology L, Herlev University Hospital from January 1995. All pregnant women of relevant ethnic origin admitted to the obstetric departments of the Country in 1995, were examined by haemoglobin electrophoresis. furthermore, we performed haemoglobin electrophoresis on immigrants admitted on suspicion of haemoglobinopathy. 24 (4.8%) of 505 examinations in pregnant women were abnormal. 12 reflected a carrier condition for either beta-thalassaemia or sickle cell disease; 53 of 82 examinations in non-pregnant patients were abnormal; 29 had beta-thalassaemia minor and the rest included the haemoglobin variants C, D, E, H and S, mostly in a heterozygous from. The genetic lesions, all of which were mutations, were characterized by molecular genetic analysis in 13 cases with demonstrated beta-gene disorder. The gene frequency of haemoglobinopathies among immigrants to Denmark is common. The Danish health care system must therefore be prepared to address this problem including the clinical aspects, screening and molecular biological examinations, prenatal diagnosis and genetic counselling.