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Iron status in Norwegian blood donors: comparison of iron status in new blood donors registered in 1993–1997 and in 2005–2006
Author(s) -
Røsvik A. S.,
Hervig T.,
WentzelLarsen T.,
Ulvik R. J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/j.1423-0410.2008.01115.x
Subject(s) - iron status , medicine , ferritin , norwegian , serum ferritin , blood donor , serum iron , iron supplement , prospective cohort study , iron deficiency , hemoglobin , immunology , anemia , linguistics , philosophy
Background and Objectives The impact of a poor iron status on the difficulties to keep recruitment of new donors at pace with the ongoing increased demand for blood transfusions was studied by comparing the iron status of new donors recruited in 1993–1997 and in 2005–2006. Materials and Methods Iron status was defined by haemoglobin and serum ferritin. Inclusion criteria for approving new donors were haemoglobin ≥ 12·5 g/dl for women and ≥ 13·5 g/dl for men, and serum ferritin > 15 µg/l for both genders. Data were gathered retrospectively from 943 subjects (55% women) in the 1990 ties and prospectively from 1013 subjects (63% women) 10 years later. Results In women, there was a significant fall in haemoglobin and serum ferritin mean values from 13·2 to 13·1 g/dl and from 30·9 to 26·9 µg/l, respectively. Rejection due to low haemoglobin was significantly increased from 14% to 24%. In men, there were minor changes that did not affect rejection rates. Conclusion Iron status of women who want to serve as blood donors has deteriorated in the last 10 years, leading to an increased rejection due to haemoglobin below the inclusion criterion for blood donors.