They start presenting with symptoms like a pale body, listless appearance and poor appetite, within the first two years of life.
It is done around the 11 th week of pregnancy and it involves removing a tiny piece of the placenta for further testing.
When a person has thalassemia, the spleen has to work very hard.
They do not gain weight and grow at the expected rate failure to thrive and may develop yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes jaundice.