Q30 of 30 Page 1

A child suffering from Thalassemia is born to a normal couple. But the mother is being blamed by the family for delivering a sick baby.

(a) What is Thalassemia?


(b) How would you counsel the family not to blame the mother for delivering a child suffering from this disease? Explain.


(c) List the values your counselling can propagate in the families.


(a) Thalassemia is a autosomal recessive blood disorder which is characterized by severe anaemia due to the production of abnormal haemoglobin chains. Thalassemia is caused by mutation or deletion in the genes coding for either the alpha/ beta/ or delta chains for abnormal haemoglobin that results in the synthesis of abnormal haemoglobin.
(b) The thalassemia is an autosomal recessive disease, so the mutation is carried on one of the autosomes, so the possibility of a carrier can be any one of the two parents. Hence, it has an equal possibility of coming from the mother or the father, so to only blame the mother for the child’s defect is unfair.
(c) The values of councelling can propagate in the families are:


1. Provide healthy diet to the child.


2. Accepting their child with all his/her positives and negatives


3. None of the parents is responsible for giving birth to a sick baby.


4. The defect in the gene is caused by a random change in the genes of the child.


5. Encouraging the child to follow her/his treatment regularly and lead a happy and normal life.


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