The implementation of thalassemia prevention programs has helped reduce the disease in newborns from 1000 cases in 1979 to 200 cases in 2014, said Fatemeh Hashemi, head of the national thalassemia diseases foundation. Mandatory testing before marriage and granting legal permission for medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) to mothers whose fetuses are identified with thalassemia major, have been effective in addressing the problem.
