Thalassaemia was originally believed to be common only to people of the Mediterranean region, such as Italians, Greeks and Turks. (An early name for Thalassaemia major or Cooley’s anemia was Mediterranean anemia)

Since then, scientists have discovered that the Thalassaemia trait is found in people of many other regions, including the Arabian Peninsuia, Africa, the Indian subcontinent. China, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.

Today, due to the migration and intermarriage of different ethnic populations, the trait for Thalassaemia is found in people with no obvious ethnic connection to the disorder.