What can be done to remove excess iron from heart and liver in a thalessemia patient?

Question

Hello doctor,

My brother is a Thalassemia major patient. He goes through regular bi-weekly blood transfusions. He has also been taking one Desferal injection on a daily basis.

Recently, a T2 MRI scan was done for him, which shows a severe amount of iron in the heart and liver. I need your expert advice on chelating iron from the heart and liver.

Please suggest.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I have read your query, and I am sorry to hear about your brother's condition.

To treat chronic iron overload in the body due to thalassemia major, he can be given an intravenous injection or subcutaneous infusion of Desferal.

Usually, in such cases, a 1 to 2 gm daily dose of Desferal might be needed. The only thing that can be done for such an iron overload due to thalassemia is Desferal injection or subcutaneous infusion. There is no other specific treatment for such iron overload apart from Desferal.

You need to visit a hematologist or trained pediatrician nearby for Desferal therapy. Unfortunately, no other treatment option apart from iron chelators is available.

I hope it helps.

Please let me know if I can help you further.

Thank you.