My mum found out too late. I found out at 27.
One condition, two generations. Found catastrophically late in one, just in time in the next. This is Will Dockerty's story — and what he's learned from twenty-five years of living well with it.
A diagnosis that arrived by accident.
Both of Will's parents were nurses. His mother was chronically unwell for years without a clear explanation. By the late 1990s her liver was failing, and at 55 she had a transplant at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
Because Addenbrooke's is a teaching hospital, researchers ran the then-new HFE gene test on the liver they had just removed. It turned up hereditary haemochromatosis — a second, entirely unsuspected cause of her disease.
That one result cascaded through the family. Will's father tested as a carrier. Will, in 2001, tested affected.
- Late 1990s
Mum's transplant
Years of illness end in a liver transplant at 55. Researchers test the removed liver and find haemochromatosis — completely unsuspected.
- 2001
Will tests, aged 27
Family testing follows. Will's result comes back affected, ferritin 300–350: raised, but early.
- 2001–2022
Two decades of venesection
Three-monthly venesections at a local hospital that had never seen a haemochromatosis patient before.
- 2022
Monitoring catches his liver
Routine haemochromatosis check-ups pick up fatty liver early. He joins FitnessGenes.
- Today
Managed, and riding
No venesection in over three years. Ferritin held at 50–100, checked every six months.
Twenty-seven, and the first case his hospital had seen.
Will's ferritin was 300–350: raised, but early. He was the first haemochromatosis patient his local hospital had ever treated, and spent roughly two decades on three-monthly venesections. Blood taken off, iron brought down, repeat.
The regular monitoring did more than manage his iron. Four years ago, those same check-ups flagged a fatty liver that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
It got found really because I was under supervision for the haemochromatosis. Otherwise it would have just sailed through and I probably wouldn't be here now.
Will Dockerty
"Why is this happening to me?" finally had an answer.
Will's results showed he carries variants linked to storing fat in the liver. For someone already under liver monitoring, that changed everything: a six-month effort became a permanent way of living.
When I started it changed around. It was the mindset — this isn't just six months, it's a lifetime thing.
Will Dockerty
Fifty-something, and riding to Brighton.
Will hasn't needed a venesection in over three years. He rides 30–40 miles a week, and completed London to Brighton last year.
Will's weight loss came from an NHS programme, rehab, a personal trainer, clinical support and his own discipline. In his words, understanding his biology was part of it. FitnessGenes does not claim to have caused it.
She said the best thing that came out of all of that misery was finding that we knew about it.Will, on his mother
His mother has since died. Will took part in this story for one reason: so other families find out earlier than his did.
Living with haemochromatosis? Haemochromatosis UK offers support and information for patients and families.
Visit Haemochromatosis UK →Will's family needed a tragedy and a research lab. Most families have neither.
With Irish and Scandinavian roots, Will calls it by its old nickname: the Celtic curse. It's one of the most common genetic conditions in people of Northern European descent, and one of the most under-diagnosed. If nothing in your family has tipped you off, how would you know?
A FitnessGenes DNA test reports your HFE C282Y and H63D genotype alongside 180+ reports on nutrition, training and longevity. It's genetic information, not a diagnosis. If your result is elevated, we'll tell you exactly what to ask your GP.
This is genetic information, not a clinical diagnosis. An elevated genetic-risk result for hereditary haemochromatosis indicates the need for follow-up clinical testing (typically serum ferritin and transferrin saturation) with a qualified healthcare professional. Do not start, stop, or change any medical treatment based on a DNA test alone. If you have any symptoms that concern you, please speak to your GP.