Free liver test in Amsterdam sees people queuing up for hours
By Simone Jacobs
To create awareness about liver health problems, free liver tests are being offered to Dutch residents at the RAI in Amsterdam. The arrangement is part of the congress of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and has received a lot of interest, with people queuing up for hours to get the free test.
Free test for liver health offered in Amsterdam until May 10
Since Monday, the free liver tests have been on offer. Anyone in the Netherlands aged 18 years or older can walk in without an appointment to find out how their liver is doing.
The test is painless and uses a Fibroscan that measures stiffness and fatty deposits in the liver, which indicates if the liver is damaged. In all, the scan takes 10 minutes, and the doctors give the results immediately. The free liver tests are done at three testing stations at the RAI in Amsterdam, available from 9am until 4pm every day and until 2pm on Saturday. May 10 is the final day the tests will be possible for free, reports NOS.
Hundreds of people have shown up to get their livers tested this week, with many waiting for hours. "I've been standing here for more than three hours now," one visitor told AT5. "But yes, it's worth it. My liver has had quite a bit to endure. So I want to know how it is doing now. And it's free."
Sharp increase in liver cancer among Dutch residents
Amsterdam UMC gastroenterologist Bart Takkenburg believes that it is very important that people take advantage of the free test. "Early detection can prevent many health problems, especially because liver diseases are often only discovered at a late stage," Takkenburg told AT5.
"About 400.000 people are at risk of serious liver damage or liver cancer," said Takkenberg. "The main causes are lifestyle-related: too much alcohol, [being] overweight and an unhealthy diet. We are seeing a sharp increase in liver cancer, in particular due to a fatty liver: ten years ago I saw one patient a week with liver cancer, now it is sometimes four."
According to Takkenburg, the doctors were able to screen up to 200 people on one day. "In a number of them, the test indicated that there was a case of a hardened liver,” he told NOS. “We ask those people to come back again. If the result is the same, they are given a form with a clear explanation and we ask the GP to refer them to a gastroenterologist in their own area."
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Editor for the Netherlands at IamExpat Media. Simone studied Genetics and Zoology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa before moving to the Netherlands, where she has been working as a writer and editor since 2022. One thing she loves more than creating content is consuming it, mainly by reading books by the dozen. Other than being a book dragon, she is also a nature lover and enjoys hiking and animal training. Read more