Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Apr;37(2):393-411.
doi: 10.1016/j.hoc.2022.12.008.

Fertility and Pregnancy in Women with Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia

Farzana A Sayani  1 , Sylvia T Singer  2 , Katie T Carlberg  3 , Elliott P Vichinsky  2
Affiliations
Review

Fertility and Pregnancy in Women with Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia

Farzana A Sayani et al. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Because women with transfusion-dependent thalassemia are seeking pregnancy, ensuring the best outcomes for both mother and baby require concerted and collaborative efforts between the hematologist, obstetrician, cardiologist, hepatologist, and genetic counselor among others. Proactive counseling, early fertility evaluation, optimal management of iron overload and organ function, and application of advances in reproductive technology and prenatal screening are important in ensuring a healthy outcome. Many unanswered questions remain requiring further study, including fertility preservation, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis, chelation therapy during pregnancy, and indications and duration of anticoagulation.

Keywords: Fertility; Iron chelation; Pregnancy; Thalassemia major; Transfusion-dependent thalassemia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure FA Sayani: Grant/Research/Clinical Trial Support: Agios Pharmaceuticals, Celgene, Novartis, Imara, Protagonist. EP Vichinsky: Grant/Research/Clinical Trial Support: Agios Pharmaceuticals, Bluebird Bio, Global Blood Therapeutics, Novartis, Novo Nordisk. Consultant/Advisory Boards: BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, Bluebird bio, Chiesi Corp, Forma Therapeutics, Global Blood Therapeutics. All of the relevant financial relationships listed have been mitigated.

Substances