Abstract
Hemoglobinopathies are the most common genetic diseases in Turkey. Sickle cell anemia is prevalent in the Çukurova region but β-thalassemia (thal) is seen all over the country. The incidence of sickle cell trait is 10% and β-thal trait is 3.7% in this region. The families at risk for hemoglobinopathies have come to our center for prenatal diagnosis since 1992. In 15 years, 1,593 fetuses were examined. Four hundred and ten fetuses were found to be homozygous or compound heterozygous for sickle cell anemia and β-thal. Some mothers had affected fetuses several times. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is an option to avoid the termination of a pregnancy. Studies for PGD of sickle cell anemia were done at Çukurova University Hospital, Çukurova, Adana, Turkey.
Notes
*Presented at the Second Titus H.J. Huisman Memorial Symposium, Adana, Turkey, May 8–9, 2006.