SHEFFIELD MP Richard Caborn underwent a blood test to raise awareness of two little known genetic conditions.
The Sheffield Central MP met staff and patients from Sheffield Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Foundation to hear about life with the diseases.
Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia are serious inherited blood disorders particularly affecting members of black and ethnic minority communities.
Although parents can carry the gene without becoming ill, the condition can be passed on to their children.
Patients with Sickle Cell can develop severe anaemia, intense pain, damage to major organs and infections.
Those with Thalassaemia need regular blood transfusions throughout their lives because their bodies don't produce haemoglobin, meaning their blood cannot transport oxygen through the body
Complications include diabetes, growth issues and problems with puberty or early menopause.
The event took place at the Church of Jesus Christ in Darnall.
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