At best thalassaemia leaves you tired, weak, and pale because the body does not produce enough haemoglobin to carry oxygen around the body. At worst a dangerous iron build-up caused by regular blood transfusions could kill you if it goes unchecked. Graphic designer Ashkaan Bandoui, 34, from Acton suffers from the rare blood condition known to affect around 1,500 people in the UK. The disease mainly affects ethnic minorities and threatens life opportunities when it is stigmatised.
Ash explains: “I have been lucky enough to have all the treatments and medicines. Because I have grown up with it, it has just been part of my life. But, for a lot of people there is a stigma and they see their friends who are married and think, ‘Why do I have to miss things to be in the hospital?’ Having children would not affect me personally, but other people say because we have had to go through this we do not want to risk it.”
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