Your monitoring & annual review

Thalassaemia care runs on regular monitoring, so problems are caught and treated early — often before you’d notice anything. Some checks are frequent, others yearly; knowing the rhythm helps you stay on top of it.

A typical schedule: haemoglobin at each transfusion; serum ferritin every 1–3 months; a cardiac T2* and liver iron (MRI) usually once a year — more often if iron is high. An annual review then covers the heart (echocardiogram), liver and viral status, the hormone glands (thyroid, blood sugar, calcium, and growth/puberty in the young), bone density (DEXA), and eyesight and hearing if you’re on deferoxamine.

You are the constant across all of it. Keeping your own records — which MUIY is built for — and bringing a summary to appointments helps every specialist see the whole picture. If you don’t have a written care plan, ask your team for one.