How you can help

1. Review the surnames listed in this web site for possible matches with your family, friends, and acquaintances. If the family can trace its roots to or near one of the towns, it could explain the mild chronic anemia which until now may have been ignored, discounted, or worse, incorrectly treated.

2. If you are, or know, an Ashkenazic carrier of beta-thalassemia, please contact me immediately. According to standard medical practice, all names will be held in confidence. We can start our discussions without names!

3. Contact the expert(s) on (Jewish) genetic diseases in your area. This will usually be the chief hematologist at a general hospital serving a large Jewish patient base and/or a hematologist associated with a local children's hospital. Genetic counselors may also know possible contacts. The question to ask is, "Have you, or anyone you know, ever identified Ashkenazic carriers of the beta-thalassemia trait?"

If the answer is yes, please let me know the name of the attending physician. I will forward the full background on the project, which could then be given to the carrier. The next step would be for the carrier to contact me.

4. Send a copy of this web page to your physician(s); ask that it be mentioned to associates, particularly in the fields of hematology, genetics, and pediatrics. This step is necessary since information about a carrier may not always come to the attention of the local expert.

For insight on how to reconstruct a family tree for genetic or family health reasons, read Combining Genealogical and Family Trait Genetic Research.

Stanley M. Diamond
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H4W 1V4
Tel: (514) 484-0100
Fax: (514) 484-7306
Email: SMSDiamond@aol.com