Lifetime treatment costs of beta-thalassaemia major

beta-thalassaemia major is a serious genetic disorder, which results in a c onsiderable increase in both acute and chronic morbidity, and mortality. Al though beta-thalassaemia major is a rare disease affecting approximate to 6 00 people in the UK, treatment is intensive and predictions of the costs in curred may aid health care planning. In this report, the cost to the health service of providing treatment services for beta-thalassaemia major patien ts, over the course of a lifetime, is calculated in order to assist resourc e allocation decisions. A cost model was developed, incorporating data from disparate sources. The undiscounted lifetime cost of treating a beta-thala ssaemia major patient was estimated to be pound 803,002, although when the costs were discounted at a rate of 6%, the lifetime cost was reduced to pou nd 219,068. Within sensitivity analyses, the discounted cost ranged from ap proximate to pound 188,000 to pound 226,000. This report may act as a guide to those involved in the planning of health care provision with regard to the resources required to treat beta-thalassaemia major patients. Such info rmation may also be incorporated into the decision-making process for the p rovision of antenatal screening programmes for beta-thalassaemia major.