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Previous Volume 339:468-469 August 13, 1998 Number 7 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Red-cell transfusion therapy in patients with homozygous -thalassemia (thalassemia major) decreases the complications of severe anemia and prolongs survival.¹ However, the effectiveness of transfusions is limited by the tissue damage resulting from iron overload, a consequence of the body's limited capacity to excrete iron. Each 250 ml of transfused red cells adds about 250 mg of elemental iron to the body. The end-organ manifestations of iron overload in patients with -thalassemia — cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, cardiac failure, diabetes mellitus, and hypopituitarism — are similar to those in patients with hereditary hemochromatosis, and they shorten life expectancy.¹

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