Learning from low income countries: Thalassaemia screening in Iran provides evidence for programme in Lancashire

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7489.478-b

BMJ 2005;330:478 (26 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7489.478-b

Letter

Learning from low income countries

Thalassaemia screening in Iran provides evidence for programme in Lancashire

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The study reported by Samavat and Modell showedthe effectiveness of screening before antenatal care.¹ In Britain,Asian Muslims are at high risk of the ${beta}$ thalassaemia trait, andmany marriages are still arranged. In the 1980s, I was partof a team that showed that screening for ${beta}$ thalassaemia traitamong Asian Muslim schoolchildren in north Manchester was acceptableto all parents; that most parents intended to arrange marriagesfor their children; that among those who were arranging marriages,almost all would change the arranged marriage if both partnershad the trait; and that termination was acceptable to almostall parents if there was an antenatal diagnosis of ${beta}$ thalassaemia.²

As a result a screening programme for ${beta}$ thalassaemia trait wasintroduced in north Manchester, although it was stopped in the1990s, after I left, as it was not considered evidence based.The Iranian study is reassuring in providing evidence. It . . . [Full text of this article]

Peter Elton, director of public health

Bury Primary Care Trust, Bury, Lancashire BL9 0EN peter.elton@burypct.nhs.uk