Comments on: Preventing a Disease Lurking in Her Genome

By: L. Lisa Lawrence

L. Lisa Lawrence — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:38:54 +0000

My father died of complications of hemachromatosis, so I know that at the very least, I am a carrier (I have not reproduced and can not since I’ve had my tubes tied, so at least passing it on is not a worry)

While I am anxiously awaiting my results for ancestry purposes, I will be very interested to see what 23andme testing shows about my risk.

By: markzero

markzero — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 07:13:06 +0000

It’s worth noting that as of yesterday (July 26th), a third variant is now being shown in the 23andMe results: S65C.

By: Sandra Thomas

Sandra Thomas — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:46:18 +0000

Hello,

Thanks for the very interesting story of how this person got genetic information which basically saved her life! It’s just that simple. Our motto is: “Prevention through Genetic Testing”. By knowing your genetic status, you can get tested for iron overload (serum iron, TIBC/total iron binding capacity, percent of saturation, and serum ferritin. Anyone who donates blood is unknowingly protecting themselves from hemochromatosis, because that is the “treatment” for this disease. There are numerous blood banks around the country that use hemochromatosis blood as donor blood (as approved by the FDA in 1999). By donating blood, the patient is helping themselves and their community. 23andme.com offers hemochromatosis screening and an array of important genetic tests. It’s an impressive list of tests at an incredibly inexpensive price. I would highly recommend it.

Sandra Thomas, President/Founder, American Hemochromatosis Society