BACKGROUND There is an increasing amount of blood sample rejection at primary health care facilities (PHCFs), impacting negatively the staff, facility, patient and laboratory costs. AIM The primary objective was to determine the rejection rate and reasons for blood sample rejection at four PHCFs before and after a phlebotomy training programme. The secondary objective was to determine whether...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Iron homeostasis is tightly regulated in mammals according to the needs of erythropoiesis and the iron stores present. This regulation is disrupted in hereditary hemochromatosis (HH), a genetic disorder characterized by increased intestinal iron absorption, leading to iron overload. The genes coding for HFE, transferrin receptor 2 (TFR2), ferroportin (SLC40A1 or FPN1),...

Hemochromatosis is a common genetic disorder in which iron may progressively accumulate in the liver, heart, and other organs. The primary goal of therapy is iron depletion to normalize body iron stores and to prevent or decrease organ dysfunction. The primary therapy to normalize iron stores is phlebotomy. In this opinion article, we discuss the indications for and monitoring of phlebotomy the...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS While upregulation of divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1) and iron regulated gene 1 (IREG1) within duodenal enterocytes is reported in patients with hereditary haemochromatosis (HH), these findings are controversial. Furthermore, the effect of HFE, the gene mutated in HH, on expression of these molecules is unclear. This study examines duodenal expression of these three mole...

In patients with chronic liver disease, especially nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and chronic hepatitis C, iron overload is an important factor for the severity and course of disease. The clinical benefit of phlebotomy as iron reduction therapy in patients with NAFLD and ALD and iron is not clear yet. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of ph...

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and stroke receive chronic transfusions to prevent stroke recurrence. Transfusion risks including infection, erythrocyte allosensitization, and iron overload suggest a need for alternative therapies. We previously used hydroxyurea (HU) and phlebotomy in two young adults with SCD and stroke as an alternative to transfusions. We have now prospectively disco...