The Thalassaemia International Federation (TIF) was established in 1987 as a patient-driven,
humanitarian non-governmental organisation. It strives to improve the awareness
of thalassaemia and promote policies of prevention and the optimal clinical care
of thalassaemia major. TIF has been in 'official relations' with the World Health
Organization (WHO) since 1996.
Dr. Michael Angastiniotis is a medical advisor of TIF and Dr.
Androula Eleftheriou is its scientific director. An international board
of directors has helped develop a multi-national, multi-cultured federation, representing
hundreds of thousands of patients and parents, and continuing to expand across the
world. TIF now comprises national thalassaemia associations in over 90 countries,
a network of scientific collaborators of over 500, a scientific advisory panel of
key experts in thalassaemia and its complications, and an administrative and scientific
team at the TIF headquarters in Nicosia, which incorporates a state-of-the-art educational
centre.