A pilot study to assess Vitamin D and serum ferritin levels among prospective female blood donors with low hemoglobin levels.

Abstract

Introduction: Anemia is one of the leading causes of deferral from blood donation. Classically, an individual's iron status is assessed with respect to serum ferritin (S. ferritin) levels. S. ferritin levels vary with phases of the menstrual cycle and may not reflect the actual iron stores. Currently, there are certain studies that explain the role of Vitamin D in erythropoiesis. The present study was conducted to assess the emerging association of Vitamin D with hemoglobin (Hb) levels among the female blood donor population.

Materials and methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 111 female blood donors over 1 year. The association of Hb levels with Vitamin D and S. ferritin levels, dietary factors, frequency of blood donations, and the number of pregnancies was analyzed.

Results: The prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency was 80.18% (n = 89) in this study. Among donors with low Hb levels, 24.32% (n = 27) had low ferritin and 51.34% (n = 57) had low Vitamin D levels. 18.01% (n = 20) of the donors had low Hb levels with coexistent low ferritin and low Vitamin D levels.

Conclusion: It is imperative to replenish the iron stores of blood donors who face deferral from blood donation due to low Hb levels. This is a preliminary study from India which looks into the Hb levels of female donors with regard to their Vitamin D status. Those females who were found to be deficient in Hb and Vitamin D levels were referred to treating clinicians for supplementation and dietary modifications. The major goal of this study was to bring those women who got deferred due to low Hb levels back to the voluntary blood donor pool once they replenished their iron stores.