Iron count concerns for women who give blood

Concerns that women who donate blood regularly are becoming iron-deficient has prompted the blood bank to look at curtailing the number of donations they make each year.

Dr Ian Franklin, medical and scientific director at the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS), said they were already advising some women to go to their GP because of concerns their iron count may be low.

The traditional “finger prick” test measures haemoglobin (Hb) levels — haemoglobin is the protein in your blood that carries oxygen — but it does not measure iron levels. This means a donor can pass the finger prick test even though their iron stores may be low. Dr Franklin said there was emergingevidence internationally that some donors, mainlywomen, were becoming iron deficient as a result.

“The reason it’s a problem for women is because they have periods and babies. Pregnancy uses huge amounts of iron,” Dr Franklin said.

“In the case of a regular female donor, iron levels — and we only store a modest amount of iron — can reduce quite quickly.”

Smaller women who donate regularly are particularly susceptible to lower iron counts, he said.

Last year the American regulatory body, the FDA, called a meeting in relation to depleted iron stores in female blood donors and recommended examining if some women needed iron supplements or if they should be asked to donate less frequently.

“What we are more likely to look at recommending is that some women volunteer to give blood one or two times a year rather than three,” Dr Franklin said.

While women have been blood donors for more than 50 years and there is no real evidence they have come to any harm, Dr Franklin said recent research has raised concerns.

Depleted iron stores can cause reduced energy levels and in extreme cases, it can lead to anaemia, symptoms of which include angina, dizziness and breathlessness.

Dr Franklin said at the moment, the focus is on restricting regular donors who have failed the finger print test on a few occasions.

The ideal situation would be to measure iron levels in women whose finger prick tests were borderline, Dr Franklin said.

The Irish Medicines Board said it wants to see a management plan to raise the time between donations for women in the borderline range.

Dr Franklin said while the human body is “not brilliant” at absorbing iron, green vegetables and red meat were a good source.