Is it necessary for a child diagnosed with thalassemia major to go for blood transfusion?

Typically, if a child has severe thalassemia and has significant symptoms, a blood transfusion is needed. However, if the disease is mild or clinically absent, blood transfusions are generally not needed.

1. Necessity: Thalassemia is a hereditary disease, which can be clinically divided into two types: severe and non-severe. In critically ill patients, due to the lack of globin chain synthesis in the body, large amounts of abnormal iron deposits occur within red blood cells, leading to the occurrence of hemolytic reactions. At this time, the child may have symptoms such as jaundice, splenomegaly, and in severe cases, it can also cause complications such as heart failure.Therefore, timely infusion of packed red blood cells under the guidance of a physician is necessary to improve hypoxic status;

2. Unnecessary: If it is a mild type of thalassemia, such as a carrier of α-thalassemia heterozygotes, a small number of punctate erythroblasts and reticulocytes can be seen on the peripheral blood smear, but the hematopoietic function in the bone marrow is normal, and this situation generally does not require special treatment, and blood transfusion treatment is not necessary.

It is recommended that parents take their children to the hematology department of a regular hospital for examination and follow the doctor's instructions to choose the appropriate treatment. In daily life, we should pay attention to a balanced and nutritious diet, eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and protein-rich foods, and avoid spicy and irritating foods. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to rest and ensure sufficient sleep time, which is conducive to the recovery of the body.