Member's statement: Haemochromatosis UK
Member's statement by Mr Maolíosa McHugh on .
- MLA
- Mr Maolíosa McHugh
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 13 January 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Haemochromatosis UK
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5315824
Read the official Assembly record
Text
A chairde,
I congratulate Haemochromatosis UK, a registered charity, and welcome the fact that it will offer up to 23,500 households free genetic screening kits in Irvinestown, Portadown, Ballymena and Magherafelt. The kits are normally priced at £130, and it is offering them free of charge. In the near future, households in the relevant postcodes will receive information about genetic haemochromatosis and access to counselling to help them to understand the test results and impact of the disease. Haemochromatosis is an iron overload, which can cause severe fatigue, joint pain, memory issues and abdominal pain. If left undiagnosed, it can have a major impact on one's health, affecting major organs such as the heart and the liver, yet, as a genetic disorder, it is easily treated with therapeutic blood removal. As someone who has haemochromatosis, I usually attend the venesection clinic at Omagh hospital three times each year to have bloods taken off, thus reducing the amount of iron in my system. Haemochromatosis, also known as the "Celtic disease", is the most common inherited disease in the North of Ireland, particularly in the north-west counties of Tyrone, Donegal and Derry. It is vital that accurate statistics are obtained for those who have the disorder to ensure that they benefit from early intervention to negative the harmful effects of the disease. It is also important that the Department of Health is provided with information on the extent of the problem and distribution of the disease, so that appropriate measures are in place to deal with its consequences.
The initiative taken by Haemochromatosis UK will go a long way to addressing that need and is to be welcomed by all. Gabhaim buíochas agus buíochas mór le Haemochromatosis UK.
286 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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