Originale
Venesection - drawing blood from the body similar to a blood donation. This is an extremely effective and almost universal treatment. The frequency of venesections depends on the degree of initial iron overload at diagnosis. It may require only a few venesections or could take 50 - 100 over a one to two year period. Maintenance venesection every two to three months is usually required for whole of life after the initial de-ironing phase.
In very rare cases where venesections are not tolerated, cheating drugs may be used to remove iron.
In some counties like Australia, the blood authority may perform the venesections at a doctor's referral and use the blood.