Blood, 1955, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 176-189.
© 1955 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Thalassemia in Jews from Kurdistan
Y. MATOTH 1,
Z. SHAMIR 1, and
E. FREUNDLICH 1
1 Department of Pediatrics, Rothschild Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
1. Seven cases of Cooley’s anemia in Jews from Kurdistan residing in the
Jerusalem area are presented with family studies. Four homozygous cases were
severe and progressive. One ended fatally and the remaining 3 were kept alive
by frequent blood transfusions. Three heterozygous cases showed a milder
course.
2. It is suggested on the basis of these and other observations that the Jews
of Kurdistan constitute a hitherto unknown reservoir of the genetic abnormality
responsible for Cooley’s anemia.
Submitted on March 30, 1954
Accepted on July 25, 1954
