Safety and Efficacy of Early Treatment With Deferiprone in Infants and Young Children

This study will give deferiprone to infants and young children with thalassemia who have started receiving regular blood transfusions but whose iron load is not yet at the level where chelation treatment would normally begin. The purpose is to see if doing this will postpone the build-up of iron without causing serious side effects. Half the children in the study will be given deferiprone at a dose that is lower than what is normally prescribed, and the other half will be given placebo. All patients will receive the assigned product three times a day for up to 12 months. Tests for signs of iron overload will be done monthly, and a patient whose iron load reaches the level where chelation therapy would normally begin will be immediately taken out of the study and started on standard chelation therapy.