Situations with iron deficiency in humans are very well known. States with an iron overload are not so well known by our general practitioners. Patients with iron overload owing to ineffective erythropoesis or repeated blood transfusions are in the care of haematologists, but there are probably large groups of patients with familiar haemochromatosis. In these cases the diagnosis is made late or not at all. In case of a correct diagnosis and treatment in time no irreversible organ damage develops. Screening examinations for familiar haemochromatosis are quite simple and available at most haematological and biochemical laboratories. The authors review contemporary findings about the pathogenesis and diagnosis of the familiar haemochromatosis supplement by description of a haemochromatic family.

        Key words: iron overload - primary haemochromatosis - diagnosis.