Do you have Hemochromatosis? Are you doing Testosterone Therapy? A therapeutic phlebotomy is a cornerstone treatment. Its Life Saving
 Treatment is the front line and most important element of hemochromatosis treatment. In hemochromatosis therapeutic phlebotomy is a procedure that removes blood from a person’s body with the specific goal of reducing iron overload.
Therapeutic phlebotomy involves the same procedure as blood donation; the primary difference is the frequency of how often we give blood.  Phlebotomy (aka venesection) may be recommended quite frequently for a person who has just been diagnosed with iron overload, especially if their ferritin levels are greatly elevated.
A physician’s prescription is necessary when the recommendation for phlebotomy is more frequent compared to the typical time frame allowed between a typical blood donation at a community blood services center (which is allowed to be completed only once every 56 days).
Therapeutic phlebotomy is continued until the patient’s ferritin level reaches a goal level set by their physician.  Most experts state that each phlebotomy reduces the ferritin level by 30 to 50 points. While this may be an accurate average, I have had a number of patients report even greater reduction in their ferritin per each phlebotomy.
When a person’s ultimate goal level of ferritin is accomplished, there is much to celebrate! However, in looking forward to the future, a person will want to prevent their iron levels from becoming elevated again. Maintaining a healthy iron and ferritin level becomes the next therapeutic goal.