Mrs. Maria Hadjidemetriou was diagnosed with beta-thalassaemia at 2 ½ years old. She resides in Downtown, Manhattan, with her daughter Julia.
Maria serves as an Executive Board Member and Secretary for the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation in the US. Renowned both nationally and internationally, Maria is a frequent speaker at medical conferences on thalassaemia. She is a published author in the American Journal of Hematology, and she has addressed Patient Rights at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva for the World Health Organization.
In recognition of her commitment to the thalassaemia community, Maria received the President Award from CAF’s President Tony Viola in 2016 and the Patient Recognition Award from the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation in 2019. She wrote and produced a short documentary film about her disease, ‘Thalassemia: Life Without Boundaries’, which has been featured on the Rare Disease Channel and earned the “Cannes World Film Festival Award – Remember the Future.”
Recently, she partnered with global cosmetics brand Maybelline for Disability Month in their “We Speak” campaign, alongside other disabled models.
View the “We Speak” Campaign Video
