Patent ID: 8759002

Claim:
A method of screening for an α-thalassemia carrier comprising the steps of: (i) obtaining a genomic sample, (ii) subjecting said sample to four separate amplification reactions by RT-PCR using (a) a primer pair that specifically hybridizes under conditions suitable for a PCR with a sequence between about nucleotides 163708 to nucleotides 167099 of the α-globin gene cluster as identified in GenBank Accession No. AE006462, (b) a primer pair having a sequence that specifically hybridizes under conditions suitable for a PCR with a sequence between about nucleotides 158640 to nucleotides 162791 of the α-globin gene cluster as identified in GenBank Accession No. AE006462, (c) a primer pair that specifically hybridizes under conditions suitable for a PCR with a sequence between about nucleotides 167099 to nucleotides 170335 of the α-globin gene cluster as identified in GenBank Accession No. AE006462, (d) a primer pair having a sequence that specifically hybridizes under conditions suitable for a PCR with a sequence between about nucleotides 162791 to nucleotides 166679 of the α-globin gene cluster as identified in GenBank Accession No. AE006462, and (iii) detecting and quantifying the amplification products relative to a control product, wherein the pair of primers comprises: in step a), a primer pair comprising (the sequences comprising/consisting of) SEQ ID NO: 1 and 2; in step b), a primer pair comprising SEQ ID NO: 3 and 4; in step c), a primer pair comprising SEQ ID NO: 5 and 6; and in step d), a primer pair comprising SEQ ID NO: 7 and 8.