GSTM1 and thalassemia: Prospective application of this method to 2726 newborns identified 87 patients with hemoglobinopathies and achieved high screening sensitivity and specificity for deletional α-thalassemia (--SEA) (100.00% and 100.00%), β-thalassemia (97.50% and 89.63%) and other abnormal Hb disorders.