Thalassemia: A Comprehensive Guide to its Symptoms and Treatments

9. Alpha thalassemia symptoms

This is a more serious type of the condition. Common symptoms include malnourishment, jaundice, and a tremendously enlarged spleen. There's a form of alpha thalassemia called hydrops fetalis, and this is the most severe form. It occurs in the body even before birth. People who have this condition are usually stillborn. Either that or they die a short time after birth. This form of the disorder only occurs when all the alpha globin genes are missing or modified.