You can't "develop" hereditary hemochromitosis [1]. It is a genetic disorder. Both parents need to carry specific genes that when combined in the child cause hereditary hemochromitosis.

I don't know about Canada but in the US it is illegal to donate blood when you have hemochromatosis. I get phlebotomy every other month (for the past 10 yrs) and my blood is always thrown away.

[1] https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/10746/hemochromat...

I should have added that, yes, you can develop hemochromatosis. Just not the hereditary type.

Looks like it's a-ok in Canada, given that you're otherwise healthy: https://www.blood.ca/en/blood/am-i-eligible-donate-blood/abc...

I have no clue if his was hereditary or not, I just remember him going to Mexico, feeling funky about half-way through the trip, and his doctor diagnosed it when he got home. Would've been in his 20s.

So this conversation has gotten me to research this topic a little bit more. I'm not exactly sure if it's actually illegal in the U.S., that's just what the nurses who do my phlebotomy have told me. Though I did find that the American Red Cross does not accept blood from individuals who have hereditary hemochromatosis [1].

My case was discovered when my doctor did an iron work-up as part of checking out my liver. The normal level in men is 12-300 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Mine was very close to 1000 ng/mL at the time. These days my hematologist likes to keep me in the 50-75 ng/mL range.

[1] https://www.redcrossblood.org/donate-blood/blood-donation-pr...