he α-thalassemia syndromes are among the most common genetic abnormalities worldwide and are prevalent in people of African, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian ethnic backgrounds. They are commonly caused by a deletion of 1 or more of the 4 α-globin genes (αα/αα), 2 located on each chromosome 16 immediately downstream from a functional embryonic ζ-globin gene and a regulatory region, HS-40