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A Forkhill family is encouraging local people to request a home testing kit for a genetic condition thought to affect hundreds of people locally. The O'Hare family run Carrive Grove Garden Centre and they are getting behind the campaign by Haemochromatosis UK in memory of their father Tony who suffered from the condition and passed away in 2018.
Genetic haemochromatosis (iron overload) is commonplace but it is rarely diagnosed. Untreated, the condition can lead to toxic iron overload, where the body is unable to process excess iron. Recent research suggests that fewer than 1 in 20 people at risk locally have been diagnosed.
The condition can cause liver disease, cancer, heart disease, chronic fatigue, diabetes, severe joint pain, sexual health issues, dementia and mental health issues. It can affect men and women at any age, but is typically diagnosed when people reach their 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s.
People with genetic haemochromatosis have four-times the risk of liver disease and twice the risk of arthritis. Men are especially affected, with ten-times the risk of liver cancer and twice the risk of developing dementia, if undiagnosed or untreated.
This week, patient charity Haemochromatosis UK has launched a preventative health initiative to raise awareness of the treatable condition. The charity, led by families with the condition, will provide free genetic screening by post in Newry and across surrounding areas. Leaflets with information about genetic haemochromatosis and details of how to order a free health check will be delivered to homes in early March.
Chief Executive of Haemochromatosis UK, Neil McClements said: “We’re launching this initiative at the invitation of the O’Hare family, who run Carrive Grove Garden Centre at Forkhill, in memory of their father Tony O’Hare who suffered from haemochromatosis. We encourage people to request a home testing kit and get tested so that they can rule out this condition. It’s inheritable and readily treated if diagnosed early, so it’s well worth families getting involved.”
Local residents can order a free health check kit using the leaflet, which is being distributed to homes in the BT35 postcode. A home testing kit is then delivered and returned by post.
Once the kit is returned, within 2 weeks, the charity will write with results to everyone tested and their NHS GP, with information about their personalised test results and what to do next.
For more information about genetic haemochromatosis, or support following a diagnosis, visit www.ironoverload.org.uk
A full range of briefing papers, statistics, logos, image and other media assets is available online here : www.haemochromatosis.org.uk
