Patient Information

General Non-malignant Haematology

How Venesection Removes Iron in Haemochromatosis

Therapeutic venesection, or phlebotomy, is the standard treatment for iron overload in hereditary haemochromatosis. The principle is simple: remove blood, and you remove iron. Understanding the basic arithmetic helps explain why genuine iron overload usually takes many venesections to correct, and why a very rapid fall in ferritin after only a few venesections may suggest that the original ferritin elevation was not due entirely to excess iron.

Ivo Andrejco · 28 Oct 2026
Read →
General Non-malignant Haematology

Can vitamin C slow early blood cancers?

Short answer: not in the way researchers hoped — but a new trial turned up a surprise worth watching. I recently presented a 2026 study to colleagues that tested a simple idea. Could a daily vitamin C tablet slow down early, slow-growing blood disorders that sometimes turn into leukaemia? The trial, called EVITA, was run by Danish and US researchers and published in the journal Cancer.

Ivo Andrejco · 12 Oct 2026
Read →
Patients Non-malignant Haematology

Living With Mild Chronic Neutropenia: When “Abnormal” Blood Counts Are Actually Benign

A perspective from the clinic Yesterday I saw a patient whose story is actually quite common in haematology clinics. He had mild neutropenia — a slightly reduced neutrophil count — that had been present for as long as records existed, going back nearly 20 years. Over that time he had remained completely well, with no unusual infections or health problems.

Ivo Andrejco · 10 Mar 2026
Read →
General Non-malignant Haematology

Is my iron really high?

Is my iron really high? Iron levels are often checked when you go to see doctors with fatigue, malaise, or weakness or when your blood shows anaemia which requires further investigations. The problem with iron test is that it has 5 components which can give a variety of combinations, some are high and some are low and then the interpretation becomes challenging. I have therefore decide to take a look at the common iron test result which often leads to further investigations as well as you often being told that you have high iron levels and you need be venesected (blood letting).

Ivo Andrejco · 1 Mar 2026
Read →