Serum Ferritin Levels for Normal Hemoglobin Blood Donors in a Korean Population

Han, Minje; Chang, Ho Eun; Park, Kyoung Un; Song, Junghan; Han, Kyou Sup

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Serum ferritin is well known as a marker that is reflective of the iron storage status in blood. But only the hemoglobin level is generally included in the current selection criteria for blood donors. Recent studies have continuously shown that the serum ferritin levels are lower for the blood donors, and especially for women and repeat donors with a normal hemoglobin level. It has been suggested that serum ferritin should be included in the blood donor selection criteria. In this study, we examined the serum ferritin status in a Korean population, and we checked the validity of the recent related studies.
METHODS
The hemoglobin and serum ferritin levels of the blood donors who visited Seoul National University Bundang Hospital were measured (total donors: 353, males: 252, females: 101). The hemoglobin levels were evaluated according to gender and the serum ferritin level, and the changes in the serum ferritin level were also checked for the repeat donors.
RESULTS
The median serum ferritin level was 89.7 ng/mL (2.5~97.5%, 13.0~280.7 ng/mL). As classified by the serum ferritin levels, 9.9% of the males and 38.6% of the females showed low serum ferritin (< or =30 ng/mL) with a normal hemoglobin level. Among the 33 cases of repeat donors, 25 cases showed reduced serum ferritin changes (mean change: 17.4%).
CONCLUSION
Similar to other recent studies, we found that the donors with normal hemoglobin could show a low serum ferritin level and especially the women and repeat donors in a Korean population. For the blood donors' safety, it is time to consider that the serum ferritin level should be included in the criteria for blood donor selection.