Guidance

Alpha zero thalassaemia carrier: description in brief

Information for pregnant women to understand what it means to be an alpha zero thalassaemia carrier.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 22 February 2021
• Last updated: 5 March 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 5 March 2026

     Replaced text on landing page (‘Refer to how to print digital leaflets if you need to provide a copy of this guidance for someone who cannot access the internet’) with ‘To request another format, you can phone 0300 311 22 33 or email england.contactus@nhs.net.’

  2. 5 February 2025

     Updated NHS England contact information

  3. 22 February 2021

     First published.

Documents

Your antenatal blood test result: you are an alpha zero thalassaemia carrier

HTML

Details

This information is for women who have had genetic (DNA) testing that confirms alpha zero thalassaemia carrier status.

It explains:

• how being a carrier can affect an individual and their family
• what an alpha zero thalassaemia carrier is
• the condition a carrier’s baby could inherit
• genetic inheritance of haemoglobin disorders
• what the result means for other people in the family

To request another format, you can phone 0300 311 22 33 or email england.contactus@nhs.net.