Haemoglobin D-beta-thalassaemia in a German family. A double heterozygous haemoglobinopathy.

This report concerns a young woman, whose stained blood films revealed a hypochromic and microcytic red cell morphology. It could be shown by haemoglobin analysis that this atypical blood film was due to a double heterozygote disorder of haemoglobin D (Hb D) and beta-thalassaemia. The thalassaemia trait was inherited from her father and the Hb D from her mother. This is the first observation of this rare disorder in a German family. Comparable cases reported in the literature are mentioned.