Media
INTERESTED IN HAEMOCHROMATOSIS AND RELATED ISSUES?
INTERESTED IN HAEMOCHROMATOSIS AND RELATED ISSUES?
Haemochromatosis Australia’s media team is happy to work with journalists and media outlets interested in haemochromatosis and related issues.
We can:
- answer media enquiries about haemochromatosis in Australia
- provide a spokesperson for interview
- provide a person affected by haemochromatosis for interview or media involvement
For any media enquires please contact Elizabeth McCray at liz.mccray@ha.org.au 0411 145 771
MEDIA RELEASES
1 NOVEMBER 2024
World’s first cloud-based haemochromatosis registry set to revolutionise research in Australia
This Friday, Australia’s world first cloud-based registry for haemochromatosis goes ‘live’. It is a pioneering platform that aims to transform research and treatment of this common, potentially life-threatening genetic condition.
Funded by the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, the Australian Haemochromatosis Registry allows individuals affected by haemochromatosis to contribute health data, allowing researchers to deepen their understanding of this iron-overload disorder and explore its links to chronic conditions such as liver disease, arthritis, diabetes, and cardiovascular issues. …
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28 August 2023
Darwin throws the spotlight on Australia’s most common genetic disorder – haemochromatosis
Most people know having too little iron in your body can cause anaemia, which is characterised by tiredness and lethargy, but few people know that the same symptoms can also be caused by having too much iron. The hereditary condition, haemochromatosis, which is passed on from both biological parents, is simple to detect and treat but if undiagnosed or ignored can lead to serious and life-threatening illness, including liver disease, arthritis, diabetes and heart disease.
One in seven Australians carry one copy of the defective gene, while one in 200 Australians have two copies, which puts them at high risk of developing the condition.
Haemochromatosis Australia (HA) is raising awareness of the condition by holding a Public Information Session at the Darwin Convention Centre on Thursday 31 August 2023 at 5.00pm. This free session will give members of the Darwin community, like Denise, the opportunity to find out more, speak to others with haemochromatosis and also to ask questions.
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1 June 2023
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2 June 2023
OVERLOAD art exhibition shines a light on Australia’s most common genetic disorder
Artistic interpretations around the theme ‘Fatigue’ will be shining a light on an extremely common genetic condition that most people have never heard of. It is part of a local initiative to raise awareness of haemochromatosis – also known as iron overload – and to prompt people to get tested.
To help raise awareness in the community of this under-diagnosed condition, local resident Sheila Stevenson is running OVERLOAD – Haemochromatosis Australia’s annual group art exhibition in northern Tasmania. The official opening will take place at 3pm on Sunday 4 June at Van Diemans Land Creamery. The exhibition will run until 16 July.
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10 August 2022
Get Carried Away in Australia’s First Wildlife-friendly Balloon Race
With environmental awareness now a key community consideration raising money ethically is crucial to the success of any project. A virtual balloon race has no impact on the environment or our wonderful wildlife. This virtual balloon race will help fund research for Haemochromatosis Australia, a charity that supports people with Iron Overload. Haemochromatosis is the most common genetic disorder in Australia affecting 1 in 200 and is linked to cancer and other chronic diseases in which the body absorbs dangerously high levels of iron.
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6 August 2022
Get Carried Away in Australia’s First Wildlife-friendly Balloon Race
Australia’s first virtual balloon race takes off on 1 September. Entrants in the seven-day event can use skill, science or luck to design the balloon that travels furthest in a straight-line and wins the five thousand dollars in virtual shopping vouchers.
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23 July 2022
World first Patient Registry for Australia’s most common genetic disorder
Australia will design and host the world’s first patient registry for Haemochromatosis, a genetic disorder linked to cancer and other chronic diseases in which the body absorbs dangerous levels of iron.
The Department of Health’s Chronic Disease Prevention Program is funding the development of the cloud-based Haemochromatosis National Patient Registry which will serve as an important national and global resource for clinicians.
The centralized database – the first of its kind – will also facilitate research into the role of iron in chronic health conditions including liver disease, arthritis, diabetes and heart conditions, as well as supporting opportunities for future research into the impact of iron on the brain.
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1 JUNE 2022
What Beethoven, Ernest Hemmingway and Dave Hughes have in common.
The composer, writer and comedian all developed Haemochromatosis – also known as Iron Overload.
Australia’s most common genetic condition that no one has ever heard of.
Globally more than 15 million people inherit the gene mutations that cause one of the proteins in the lining of the intestine to malfunction and too much iron to be absorbed.
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14 MARCH 2022
Letter to the editor If you’re celebrating ‘a touch of the Irish’ in your blood on St Patrick’s Day, spare a thought for whether this means you are pumping too much iron.
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31 MAY 2021
Undiagnosed iron overload linked to chronic disease and death in thousands of Australians More than one hundred thousand Australians are at greater risk of developing liver cancer, arthritis, diabetes and other chronic conditions because of undiagnosed haemochromatosis, a disorder where the body absorbs too much iron.
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26 NOVEMBER 2020
Liver cancer ten times more likely in men with haemochromatosis Findings from research led by the University of Exeter published in the internationally renowned journal JAMA reveal that men with Australia’s most common genetic disorder are ten times more likely to develop liver cancer and have prompted calls for greater use of simple detection and treatment techniques.
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31 MAY 2020
Iron Matters raised during Haemochromatosis World Week Haemochromatosis, or iron overload, is the most common genetic disorder in Australia and, when left untreated, can cause liver disease, arthritis and diabetes. It is often under-diagnosed, despite the fact that one in 200 Australians is genetically predisposed to the disorder, and one in seven carries a mutation in the affected gene.
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10 FEBRUARY 2020
Launch of Parliamentary Friends of Haemochromatosis Despite being the most common genetic disorder in Australia, haemochromatosis is often underdiagnosed because people don’t know about it and symptoms are general. One in 200 are at risk and one in seven people carry the condition, and it is equally likely in both sexes.
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21 JANUARY 2019
Iron overload amplifies other chronic health conditions New studies reveal Australia’s most common genetic disorder causes far higher levels of serious disease than previously thought and have prompted calls for greater use of simple detection and treatment techniques
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