The experience of β-thalassaemia and its prevention in Cyprus

Medicine and Law

Volumn 26, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 291-307

  Kalokairinou, E M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS   (Cyprus)

Author keywords

Genetic counselling; Heterozygote; Homozygote; thalassaemia

Indexed keywords

ASCORBIC ACID; DEFEROXAMINE; DEFEROXAMINE MESYLATE; FOLIC ACID; HEMOGLOBIN; HEPATITIS B VACCINE; IRON CHELATING AGENT;

ARTICLE; BETA THALASSEMIA; BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION; CYPRUS; DRUG COST; ERYTHROCYTE TRANSFUSION; GENETIC COUNSELING; HEALTH EDUCATION; HEALTH PROGRAM; HEPATITIS B; HOMOZYGOSITY; HUMAN; MASS SCREENING; MEDICAL CARE; MEDICAL PERSONNEL; MORALITY; PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS; RELIGION; SPLENECTOMY; VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION;

EID: 34447254741     PISSN: 07231393     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (24)

1. Cyprus News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-10-29
2. see also, http://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/cna/1998/ 98-10-29_1.cna.html
3. Ibid
4. For further information on the history of thalassaemia and other hereditary diseases in Cyprus see, Deltas, C. (2004) Hereditary diseases and the Cypriot reality: a historico-genetic approach, XXX: 1-33.
5. Angel, J. L. (1966) Porotic Hyperostosis, Anaemias, Malarias, and Marshes in the Prehistoric
6. Ibid
7. Faudry, A.L. (1944) Erythroblastic anaemia of childhood (Cooley's anaemia) in Cyprus, The Lancet I: 171-176
8. Angastiniotis, M.A. and Hadjiminas, M.G. (1984) Thalassaemia, Postgraduate Doctor-Middle East, December: 756-764;
9. also, Angastiniotis, M., Kyriakidou, S. and Hadjiminas, M. (1986) How thalassaemia was controlled in Cyprus, World Health Forum, 7: 291-297.
10. Op. cit., p. 758
11. Op. cit., p. 756-764
12. Op. cit., p. 291-2
13. Hadjiminas, M. G. (1994) The Cyprus experience-screening to combat a serious genetic disease, Ethics and Human Genetic Proceedings, Second Symposium of the Council of Europe on Bioethics, Strasbourg, Council of Europe Press, 26-48
14. Ioannou, P. (1999) Thalassemia Prevention in Cyprus. Past, present and future, Chadwick, R., Shickle, D., Have, H. ten and Wiesing, U. (eds.), The Ethics of Genetic Screening, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dodrecht, Boston, London, 55-67.
15. Ibid
16. Ibid
17. We need to emphasize that the iron chelation therapy which is necassary for all those who have to do blood transfusions is a painful and time consuming procedure.
18. Kattamis, Chr. (2003) Treatment of the Mediterranean anaemia, Society and Health II 175-187.
19. Angastiniotis, M.A. (1992) Managemement of Thalassaemia in Cyprus, Birth Defects 28: 38-43
20. Kleanthous, M. (2004) Prenatal diagnosis in Cyprus Hadjiminas, M. (ed.), 249-267.
21. The reason why many people think that the preimplantation genetic diagnosis is a better test than the prenatal diagnosis and the probable termination of the pregnancy is because they hold that the loss of a life of three months is a bigger evil than the loss of one or more fertilized eggs at the stage of blastocysts. According to others, however, the preimplantation genetic diagnosis is a worse method than prenatal diagnosis because there is a greater loss in terms of «prenatal life». On this debate, see Kalokairinou, E.M. (2006) Prenatal diagnosis and preimplantation genetic diagnosis: methods of prevention or forms of eugenics?, Deltas, C., Kalokairinou, E.M., and Rogge, S. (eds.), Progress in Science and the Danger of Hubris: Genetics, Transplantation, Stem-cell Research, Waxmann, Munster, New York, Munchen, Berlin, 69-78.
22. See above, p. 8
23. Hoedemaekers, R.H.M.V. (1998) Normative Determinants of Genetic Screening and Testing, Katholicke Universiteit Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 159-177.
24. Guterman, L. (2003) Choosing Eugenics. How far will nations go to eliminate a genetic disease?, The Chronicle off Higher Education, 5 February 2003.