It may be performed at a hospital or clinic.
The procedure reduces an excessively high number ofred blood cellsor excessively high levels of iron in the blood.
Once these levels are normalized, the treatment may be given less frequently and sometimes stopped.
Illustration by Laura Porter for Verywell Health
This article describes what conditions therapeutic phlebotomy treats, how it works, and what to expect during treatment.
Therapeutic phlebotomy, by contrast, is used to correct imbalances in your blood that cause illness.
The goal is to restore blood levels to the expected values.
This can cause your blood to thicken and clot excessively.
The clotting, in turn, can lead to a heart attack and stroke.
Once normalized, your HCT will be retested every four to eight weeks.
Hereditary hemochromatosis is most common in people of Northern European ancestry, most especially those of Celtic descent.
Aferritin blood testmeasures blood iron levels in micrograms per liter of blood (g/L ).
Therapeutic hemochromatosis is usually done once weekly or every two weeks until ferritin levels are 50 g/L or less.
Thereafter, ferritin levels are regularly monitored.
The treatment can be repeated if necessary.
PCT pops up if porphyrina chemical in your body that is transformed intohemoglobinbuilds up in your blood.
About 20% of PCT cases are linked to genetic mutations.
The aim is to reduce porphyrin to undetectable levels in blood and urine tests.
PTE takes place if HCT levels increase by more than 50% after the transplant.
In cases like this, therapeutic phlebotomy is used to help prevent organ rejection.
Depending on how much blood is taken, the procedure can take an hour or less.
Therapeutic phlebotomy is typically performed over several sessions.
In between, blood tests are performed to see if levels have normalized.
Therapeutic phlebotomy may be performed daily or every other day for acute treatment.
Maintenance treatments may be performed weekly, monthly, quarterly, or as needed depending on your blood results.
Some cases, like acquired hemochromatosis, may not require follow-up treatments.
Nausea, vomiting, and bruising are not uncommon.
Blood is removed over several sessions when red blood cells or iron levels are dangerously high.
Thomas DP.The demise of bloodletting.J R Coll Physicians Edinb,2014;44(1):72-7. doi:10.4997/JRCPE.2014.117
MedlinePlus.Polycythemia vera.
Kontoghiorghes GJ.Iron load toxicity in medicine: from molecular and cellular aspects to clinical implications.Int J Mol Sci.
2023;24(16):12928. doi:10.3390/ijms241612928
National Organization for Rare Disorders.Porphyria cutanea tarda.
2021 Jun 18;11(6):220-230. doi:10.5500/wjt.v11.i6.220
