Iron status in blood donors

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Nutritional Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Blood donation is a vital source of transfusable blood products.
• Assessing the iron status of blood donors is crucial for donor health and blood supply safety.
• Previous studies have yielded mixed results regarding the impact of donation frequency and iron supplementation on donor iron stores.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the iron status of a cohort of blood donors.
• To determine the relationship between donation frequency, total donation volume, and iron depletion.
• To evaluate the efficacy of iron supplementation in maintaining iron stores among blood donors.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of iron status in 592 blood donors.
• Assessment of iron stores using serum ferritin, hemoglobin, serum iron, and transferrin saturation.
• Correlation analysis between donation frequency, total donation volume, and biochemical markers of iron status.
• Evaluation of the impact of iron supplementation and donor sex on iron status.

Main Results:

• Reduced iron stores were observed in 8% of donors.
• Donation frequency, not the total number of donations, was significantly related to reduced iron stores.
• No significant relationship was found between reduced iron stores and blood donation history, iron supplementation, or donor sex.
• Serum ferritin was identified as the most reliable indicator of iron status compared to hemoglobin, serum iron, and transferrin saturation.
• Iron supplementation did not demonstrate any beneficial effect on iron status.

Conclusions:

• Frequent blood donation, rather than the cumulative volume donated, is the primary factor influencing iron depletion in donors.
• Serum ferritin is the superior biomarker for monitoring iron status in blood donors.
• Routine iron supplementation does not appear to benefit blood donors in maintaining iron stores.
• Further research may explore personalized strategies for iron management in frequent blood donors.