Results from the north cyprus thalassemia prevention program.

Thalassemia was a serious health problem in Cyprus. The first scientific studies on thalassemia started in 1976 after a seminar which was organized by the Turkish Hematology Association. At the end of the seminar it was decided that a thalassemia prevention program would be effective to control this problem as thalassemia was a hereditary disease and possible to prevent. The aim was to stop the affected newborns and provide good treatment facilities to the existing thalassemic patients. In 1979, high risk families started to be screened for thalassemia. In 1980, premarital screening was made compulsory by law. In 1984, prenatal diagnosis was started with fetal blood sampling techniques. DNA techniques replaced fetal blood sampling in 1991. After prenatal diagnosis started in 1984, affected birth rates showed a sharp decrease in contrast to an average of 18-20 cases per year before the implementation of the "Thalassaemia Prevention Programme." Between 1991 to 2001, only five thalassemic babies were born, one in every 2-3 years. No thalassemic babies have been born in the last 5 years. Thalassemic patients live longer with a better quality of life because of more effective treatment modalities. A great majority of the patients are over 25 years old (66%), living and working as the normal population. Thirty-eight percent of them are married and have children.