Hi! i met a 32 year old lady last week who suffered from thallasemia. First time i have ever come accross it too and i asked her for some details! She explained to me that it is a disorder of the blood which is hereditary, and is very common in middle east of the world. (She was indian). She explained that she cannot produce red blood cells or the sufficient amount, so she has to have a blood transfusion every 3 weeks. She has a husband of white british origin whom isn't a carrier. Aparently a carrier is known as thallasemia MINOR and she with the actual conidtion is thallasemia MAJOR, She said that as her husband was a non-carrier there was a 1 in 4 chance for her child(ren) to have thallasemia .
hope this helps u! but if u r seriously worried u should go to your GP and they can refer you to genetic counselling.