Safety and Efficacy of Deferasirox in Combination With Desferoxamine in β-thalassaemia Patients With Severe Cardiac Iron Overload

Inclusion Criteria: * Male or female patients with β-thalassemia major, at least 18 years old, having given written consent to participate in the study. * Cardiac MRI T2\* value ranging from \<=4 to \<=10 ms. * LVEF ≥ 56 % as determined by CMR. * Patients with LIC \> 10mg Fe/g dw will be included in the protocol. Study will evaluate the first 10 patients at 6 months, and if no safety signals are present, patients with LIC\>5 mg Fe/g dw will be allowed to be included. * Prior iron chelation treatment with DFO, DFP, DFX or combination DFO-DFP Exclusion Criteria: * Patients with symptoms of cardiac dysfunction symptoms (shortness of breath at rest or exertion, orthopnea, exercise intolerance, lower extremity edema, arrhythmias). * Patients with cardiac T2\* MRI \< 4 or \> 10 ms. * Patients not compliant to intensive iron chelation therapy regimens such i.v DFO 24 hr infusions or DFO-DFP combination. * Patients with documented liver failure (presence of portal hypertension, hepatic edemas, ascites). * Patients unable to undergo study assessments, including blood sampling, MRI, e.g., are claustrophobic to MRI, have a pacemaker, ferromagnetic metal implants other than those approved as safe for use in MRI scanners (e.g., some types of aneurysm clips, shrapnel in proximity to vital organs such as the retina), are obese (exceeding the equipment limits). * Patients with serum creatinine \> ULN or with significant proteinuria as indicated by a urinary protein/creatinine ratio ≥ 1.0 …