Professor Gerry McElvaney:

We have a good idea of how many people in Ireland have alpha 1- antitrypsin deficiency. We estimate that 170,000 people have the MZ form and more than 3,000 have the ZZ form. If somebody who is a ZZ smokes, he or she will develop severe emphysema in his or her 30s and 40s. Even a non-smoker will have a good chance of developing emphysema. The advantage of our targeted early detection programmes is that we know from our own data that people who are found to have the condition can be persuaded to stop smoking and institute lifestyle changes that help to prevent progression of disease. We have set up a targeted detection programme in Beaumont Hospital which is funded by the HSE. The funding has been cut but it is still functional. We can offer a free test to everyone in the country for alpha 1- antitrypsin deficiency. We have rolled out the programme to more than 26 hospitals and GP surgeries across Ireland. A GP in west Cork can now send a letter to us in Beaumont and we will send a kit so that he or she can take a blood sample from the patient, put it on a filter paper and return it to us for diagnosis. We will then give the patient an appointment at our outpatient centre in Beaumont for advice on the condition and lifestyle improvements that can help. If we can detect the condition at an early stage, we can preserve lung function and prevent deterioration leading to lung transplants. More important, it is a good example of a public system that works.