Thalassemia is an:

The correct answer is Option (2) → Autosome-linked recessive disorder

Thalassemia is a blood disease in which too little globin is made, causing anaemia. Its gene is on an autosome, not on a sex chromosome. A child gets the disease only when both parents are unaffected carriers (heterozygous) and both pass on the faulty allele.

Option (2) Autosome-linked recessive disorder — Correct. Thalassemia is an autosome-linked recessive blood disease, passed from parents to offspring when both are unaffected carriers. A mutation or deletion reduces the synthesis of the α or β globin chains of haemoglobin.

Note: The same question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2026 on 31-05-2026 (Slot 2) and on 22-05-2026 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2025 on 23-05-2025 (Slot 2).

NCERT Extract:
Mendelian Disorders – “… Thalassemia : This is also an autosome-linked recessive blood disease transmitted from parents to the offspring when both the partners are unaffected carrier for the gene (or heterozygous). The defect could be due to either mutation or deletion which ultimately results in reduced rate of synthesis of one of the globin chains (α and β chains) that make up haemoglobin.”