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 Kellie Curtain at kellie@indeliblemarks.net   0412 339 690

MEDIA RELEASES

1 June 2023

Australia lightens the overload of Australia’s most common genetic disorder

Around 100 well-known buildings and landmarks across Australia, will turn red every evening from 1-7 June, shining a light on an extremely common genetic condition that most people have never heard of. It is part of a worldwide initiative to raise awareness of haemochromatosis – also known as iron overload – and to prompt people to get tested.

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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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COMMUNITY SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Community Service Announcement – 30 second audio MP3 clip and Haemochromatosis Jingle (30 second song)
Radio stations may play these audio clips (unedited) on air at any time. We would appreciate a brief email letting us know you have used the CSA or jingle to feedback@ha.org.au