Why would he and his wife be contemplating having their baby tested for this disease?

Answer 1

Hereditary hemochromatosis is an inherited disorder usually caused by mutations in the HFE gene located on chromosone 6. Most likely, David and his wife are contemplating having their baby tested for this disease for purposes of prevention. Early symptoms of this disease can be unnoticeable; however, later symptoms such as liver cirrhosis, possibly developing into liver cancer, or iron deposits in the pancreas resulting in diabetes or cardiomyopathy or arthritis are possibly preventable.