Genetic blood condition haemochromatosis still under-diagnosed, advocates say

It's the most common genetic disorder in Australia that leaves people tired and lethargic, but you've probably never heard of it.

Transcript

00:00 A busy mum running a successful business, Denise Dunn thought her daily fight against

00:07 fatigue was normal.

00:09 Then her symptoms of lethargy and joint pains worsened.

00:13 I couldn't do a day's work without getting exhausted.

00:17 I became a bit irritable and then I just thought I've got to find out what's going on.

00:26 Doctor after doctor and test after test turned up nothing abnormal.

00:31 Then finally she got an answer that changed her life.

00:34 Yeah, what's the surprise?

00:35 I'd never ever heard of it before.

00:37 Most people are familiar with the classic symptoms of an iron deficiency, feeling weak

00:42 and tired.

00:43 But the flip side, an iron overload is rarely spoken about.

00:47 It's called hemochromatosis and it's the most common genetic disorder in Australia.

00:52 And most people have never heard of it and if it's left untreated it can cause life threatening

00:57 conditions like cancer and diabetes.

01:00 Luckily the treatment is simple.

01:02 Just have to donate blood, which is good for me and it's also good for anyone needing blood

01:08 because the blood's rich in iron.

01:12 Instantly you would feel the relief in your joints.

01:15 This is a genetic disease and it's a disease where it has to be on both sides of the family.

01:24 So typically both the mother and the father carry an abnormal gene for hemochromatosis.

01:31 So often undiagnosed, Dan was researching the effects of hemochromatosis on the brain

01:37 and had no idea he was suffering from the disorder himself.

01:40 It goes to show how common it is that someone that's researching this day in and day out

01:44 can be totally oblivious to the fact they have the condition themselves.

01:47 He's now dedicating his life to creating awareness about the common signs - lethargy, fatigue

01:53 and sore joints.

01:55 When you hear these stories of people that have developed liver cancer that's terminal

02:00 and they think well if only I had known 10 years earlier that this was the cause of it

02:04 I could have done something about it.

02:06 They're the cases that sort of break your heart.

02:09 These global experts say early detection is key to saving lives and cutting health costs.

02:15 Cut it? Yep. Yep.

02:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]