KLF1 and thalassemia: Thus, an accurate diagnosis of hemoglobinopathies calls for not only the proper genotyping of the disease‐causing mutations in globin gene clusters, but also newly identified variants in modifier genes, such as KLF1, BCL11A, and GATA1, which are responsible for altered expression of γ‐globin and also influence β‐thalassemia severity (Bauer & Orkin, 2015; D. Liu et al., 2014; Thein et al., 2007).