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Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Continuous Manual Exchange Transfusion for Patients with Sickle Cell Disease: An Efficient Method to Avoid Iron Overload
Published on: March 14, 2017
The effect of blood donation frequency on iron status
A S Røsvik1, R J Ulvik, T Wentzel-Larsen
1Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway. ar@hials.no
Introduction:
The effects of blood donation on iron status in donors without iron supplementation were studied. Analysing interactions between donations and iron status markers may predict these effects.
Materials And Methods:
Haemoglobin (Hb) and serum ferritin were analysed in 893 donors over 1 year. Serum transferrin receptor (sTfR) was measured at the first and last donation.
Results:
Prolonged intervals prevented decrease in Hb in women and in ferritin for both genders. In women, a high TfR-F index (sTfR/log ferritin) predicted fall in Hb.
Conclusion:
Adjusting the donation intervals is a way to prevent iron deficiency in blood donors.
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