A survey of pregnancies with Hb Bart's disease in Mainland China.

alpha-Thalassemia (alpha-thal) is a common inherited disease in southern China. The severest form is Hb Bart's disease, in which the affected individuals are lethal in utero or shortly after birth, and the pregnancies are at high risk for severe morbidity. A survey by us revealed a total of 68 cases of Hb Bart's disease during the past 7 years at a maternal hospital and none of these showed that a risk of thalassemia had been recognized prior to the development of hydrops fetalis. The number of cases of Hb Bart's disease did not vary significantly during the study period. This means that the prevention program for alpha-thal has not been efficient. More effort is needed to efficiently control this disease in our region.