Hemoglobinopathy | |
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Other names | Hemoglobinopathies |
Red blood cells from a person with sickle cell trait | |
Specialty | Hematology |
Hemoglobinopathy is the medical term for a group of inherited blood disorders involving the hemoglobin, the protein of red blood cells.[1] They are generally single-gene disorders and, in most cases, they are inherited as autosomal recessive traits.[2][3]
There are two main groups: abnormal structural hemoglobin variants caused by mutations in the hemoglobin genes, and the thalassemias, which are caused by an underproduction of otherwise normal hemoglobin molecules. The main structural hemoglobin variants are HbS, HbE and HbC. The main types of thalassemia are alpha-thalassemia and beta thalassemia.[4][2]