What is beta thalassemia trait (minor)?

Also known as: beta thalassemia minor, thalassemia minor, beta thalassemia trait, beta thalassemia carrier.

Thalassemia is a medical condition in which the body makes less hemoglobin than usual. It causes anemia. There are two types of thalassemia, alpha and beta. In beta thalassemia two genes are involved. When one of these two genes are missing, it can lead to beta thalassemia trait, or beta thalassemia minor.

A person with beta thalassemia minor has less severe symptoms than beta thalassemia major but can still pass along the genes to their children.

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Reviewed by: Athena Pefkarou, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM