Thalassemia in Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia is located along the ‘Thalassemia Belt’ and a hotspot for hemoglobinopathies. Around 3.0–10.0% of the population carry β-thalassemia (β-thal) and 2.6–11.0% of the population carry α-thalassemia (α-thal). It is estimated that around 2500 babies are born with β-thal major (β-TM) each year. At present, the cornerstone of treatment for β-TM in Indonesia remains supportive, including blood transfusions and iron chelation therapy. Hemovigilance systems in some cities are poor and it increases the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections and transfusion reactions. The availability of iron chelators remains uncertain, even in some rural areas, iron chelators do not exist. The poor adherence to iron chelation therapy and maintaining pretransfusion hemoglobin (Hb) levels above 9.0 g/dL are still a major issue in Indonesia. The cost of blood transfusion and iron chelation are covered by national health insurance. In line with the rise of life expectancy, the financial burden of thalassemia in Indonesia is increasing sharply. Thus, optimizing preventive programs may be the most suitable option for the current thalassemia condition in Indonesia.

Keywords:

• Iron chelation
• Indonesia
• prevention
• thalassemia

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This Special Issue on Thalassemia in Asia 2021 was partially supported by Project KY202002008 from the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China through the Asian Thalassemia Training Center (ATTC) at Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, PRC.