HBA2 and thalassemia: As expected, α-globin mRNA was found significantly decreased in α-thalassemic erythroblasts (HbH and HbH-CS), and β-globin mRNA was also found significantly decreased in β-thalassemic erythroblasts (homozygous β0-thalassemia and β0-thalassemia/HbE) (Figure 1a).