A few days later
Nia is 16
A few days later
Nia is 16
Even though she is taking medicine, Nia still has too much iron in her body. Her doctor wants to switch to exchange transfusions. It’s more complex but adds less iron to Nia’s body.
Every year, you will get medical tests and scans.
The tests let your doctor check if the transfusions are working and if there are any problems.
The tests are:
- Iron overload test
- Liver test
Iron Overload Test
- The amount of iron in your blood can be measured by your blood ferritin level.
- The test checks if you have too much iron in your body (iron overload).
- People with iron overload get this test more frequently.
Liver and Heart MRI
- This scan checks if your liver is healthy.
- For this scan, you lay down in an MRI machine.
- People with too much iron in their body (iron overload) get this scan every 6 to 12 months.