haemachromotosis

[cortilla]

I was wondering if anyone could tell how the caa view sufferers of this genetic disease. I'll go into a bit more detail. It is a genetic disorder which stops the body from dealing with excess iron in the blood. this causes large iron deposits around various organs particularily the liver.

My grandfather died as a result of having it (cause of death i seem to remember was scorosis of the liver or alcaholic's liver even though since 1945 he hadn't drunk a drop of the stuff) My father has the disease however it is being managed by letting about 1-2 pints of blood every three months (it used to be a lot more but that was just to stabalise his iron levels).

I'm not sure yet whether or not i have it, but i'm waiting for the test results. I'm definitely a carrier as my father has both defective genes. I was wondering what ramifications this would have on my medical (class one). I have told the CAA on all my medical forms including the initial that my father has it, and it has never been commented on. I'm not sure whether or not I want to mention that I possibly have it yet, and I don't want to ask the CAA yet until I know whether I do have it or not. Could anyone care to comment please.

p.s. I could very definitely be wrong on several of the medical terms but that's because i'm a pilot and not a doctor, and i do apologise beforehand.

Thanks for all the help

[ausdoc]

With effective treatment, which may include periodic bloodletting, there should not be a problem with medical certification. There may also be a rquirement fr periodic specialist review.

[cortilla]

I'm not worried about the disease itself, I know it's fully manageable, and i don't see any major side effects from my dad(he feels a bit queesy for the rest of the day after having a pint drained from him, who wouldn't). I just want to know what the CAA policy on the disease is(if they have one). Like i said i'm a bit loathe to tell the caa until I know for sure, as I don't want a knee jerk reaction from them.