Iron Overload

Iron overload is the accumulation of too much iron in the body. People who receive multiple blood transfusions in the course of treatment for certain diseases are at particular risk of iron overload as the body has no natural mechanism for excreting iron. One unit of transfused red cells delivers approximately 250mg of iron to the body. People with thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia, Diamond Blackfan anaemia and myelodysplastic syndrome may receive regular blood transfusions, resulting in a need to monitor total body iron, and where appropriate, to remove it through chelation therapy.

Iron overload can also be caused by excessive absorption of iron from the diet, as occurs in the hereditary disease haemochromatosis.

Clinicians managing these conditions need to get a complete picture of a patient’s body iron stores to inform their decisions on treatment options.

Deposits of iron in tissues cause organ damage, and accumulation occurs primarily in the liver. Once the iron-binding capacity of the liver has been exceeded, deposition occurs in other organs, such as the heart. This causes a greater risk of cardiac complications and premature death.

Therefore, monitoring of liver iron concentration provides an early warning of potential cardiac iron loading and its attendant health implications.

FerriScan Fact Sheet - Why is accurate monitoring of liver iron important?

The deposition of cardiac iron has profound implications for patient health and indicates that urgent measures must be taken to reduce body iron loading.

An analysis of both liver and cardiac iron therefore enables clinicians to get a more complete picture of body iron loading, to appraise the immediate health risks to the patient and inform their decisions on treatment options.