Thal minor+ Haemochromatosis

Hi I was wondering if anyone can answer this question for me...

I have Beta Thal Minor and my boyfriend (ironically) is a carrier for Haemochromatosis (which is a conditional where you have too much iron in your body).
He thinks that b/c I dont have enough iron and he has plenty it will cancel out, resulting in normal children-when we have them.
I dont think so. But what are the chances of us having healthy children? With his and my conditions.
Thanks guys!

Do you know that you don't have enough iron? There is no connection between iron deficiency and thalassemia minor. However, the two conditions can coincide. The hemoglobin level is low in thal minor due to not enough good beta globin being produced and this is caused by a defective gene and has nothing to do with iron deficiency. If you do suspect you are deficient, you can have a panel of tests called iron studies done to determine your iron status. When the Hb drops, your body will naturally absorb more iron from food and this can actually lead to too much iron in thal intermedias who have Hb levels in the 6-8 range. At your Hb level, you probably won't see this happening but it is more likely that you would have adequate iron levels because your Hb is below 10, unless you have an iron absorption problem or unknown bleeding. From your posts, I doubt this is the case. I think you'd be asking us a whole different set of questions if you were iron anemic. So, this leads to the other question.

I will refer you to a thread at http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriends.com/index.php/topic,733.msg5650.html#msg5650

Here's the catch-- people with thalassemia (even thal minor) tend to bind iron more than normal anyway.  This tends to make hemochromatosis more dangerous in those with thalassemia.

It can actually create more of an iron problem if the thal minor is causing excess iron absorption. It might be useful to get an iron panel done just so you can get some idea if the thal side of the equation could add to the iron problem should you and your bf have kids.

haha Andy you're right. I dont really know what Im talking about. I am still doing my research about the condition.

I have low hb levels - I think I said I had low iron levels..in fact i remember having tests done a couple of years ago and the doctor said my iron levels were really good. So it is not an iron problem. I do however have anemia..which i guess most thal ppl have?

Yep, anemia is common among thal minors. But there have also been world class athletes who are thal minors, so it does vary greatly. I've seen reports from minors with Hb levels anywhere from 8 to 14.