The only radical cure for homozygous thalassemia is to transplant bone marrow from an HLA-identical donor who is normal or heterozygous for thalassemia, which is capable of producing and maintaining a normal hemoglobin level in the recipient. All thalassemic patients, together with their parents and siblings, should be HLA typed for this purpose. When an HLA donor is available, we believe that bone marrow transplantation is mandatory in thalassemic patients of class 1 and 2, as well as for those of class 3 who are aged