Iron supplementation for donors with iron deficiency
Donors with low iron levels can benefit from taking iron supplements. This is the conclusion of research conducted by Jan Karregat, a researcher in Katja van den Hurk's group at Sanquin. He studied the effectiveness and side effects of different iron dosages. The study involved approximately 850 donors who had low iron reserves (ferritin) at the beginning of the trial.
The researchers concluded that a daily dose of 60 milligrams of iron provides the best results and is well-tolerated, without causing side effects like gastrointestinal issues. The results of this study, known as the FORTE study, have now been published in The Lancet Hematology.
Monitoring donor health
The reason for the study stemmed from the ferritin policy introduced in recent years. Ferritin is a measure of the body's iron reserves. It is checked at the start of a donor's career and after every fifth donation, in addition to the hemoglobin (Hb) level, which is measured before each donation.
Low iron levels can lead to anemia. Since ferritin levels drop before hemoglobin levels do, monitoring ferritin allows Sanquin to call donors with low levels for their next donation at a later time. This prevents donors from being deferred due to low Hb levels, so they don't have to leave without donating. By using this method, Sanquin not only monitors donor health but also prevents disappointment.
Further research
It now appears that many donors are temporarily unable to donate at some point due to low ferritin. In 2023, this was the case for 50,000 donors. And when donors don't donate for a longer period, some stop completely. This led to the desire to investigate whether it is possible to actively maintain donors' iron stores by providing iron supplements. Other research by Jan shows that the majority of donors asked are open to this idea. Sanquin believes it is important to carefully weigh the pros and cons of iron supplementation for blood donation and will first seek advice to map this out.