LEVELS OF SERUM IRON, TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY AND FERRITIN IN REGULAR HEALTHY VOLUNTEER BLOOD DONORS; AN ALARMING SITUATION

Objectives: Aim of this study was to evaluate the iron status of regular volunteer healthy blood donors.
Material & Methods: All donors were divided into two groups i.e. donors who never donated blood earlier were
considered as control group while other group included donors who had donated blood more than once. A total of
255 volunteers included in this study i.e. 105 as control group while 150 as test group. From all blood donors blood
samples were collected for complete blood counts, serum iron, total iron binding capacity and serum ferritin.
Results: Hemoglobin showed no statistical change in donors who donated blood once a year as compared to control
group. However those donors who donated blood more than once showed statistically significant difference in their
hemoglobin as compared with normal control group. Serum iron, TIBC and serum ferritin showed decreased levels in
blood donors donating blood once a year or more than once a year as compared with control group.
Conclusion: It is concluded that depletion of iron leads to iron deficiency in regular blood donors. Hemoglobin level
should not be the only criteria for normal healthy individuals who regularly donate blood.
Key Words: blood, blood donation, hemoglobin level, ferritin, iron binding capacity.