ISSN 2997-1036
International Journal of Hematology | Vol. 4, No. 12, December 2013 | pp. 89–96
DOI: 10.46882/2013/IJH/000048
Original Article
Title: Evaluation of automated reticulocyte hemoglobin content in the early detection of iron deficiency in blood donors
Names of Authors: Q. S. Abubakar¹, U. T. Maina²
Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Haematology, National Hospital, Abuja, Nigeria; ²Department of Pathology, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria
Abstract: Regular blood donation depletes iron stores, often causing subclinical iron deficiency before it manifests as an absolute drop in total hemoglobin. This study evaluated the diagnostic performance of reticulocyte hemoglobin content (Ret-He) compared to traditional biochemical parameters for identifying latent iron deficiency in 200 regular male blood donors. Full blood counts and reticulocyte indices were measured on an automated hematology analyzer, with serum ferritin serving as the reference standard. Latent iron deficiency, defined by a serum ferritin below 30 ng/ml despite a normal total hemoglobin (≥ 12.5 g/dl), was identified in 24.5% (49 of 200) of the donors. The mean reticulocyte hemoglobin content was significantly lower in the iron-deficient donor cohort (26.4 ± 1.8 pg) compared to iron-replete donors (33.2 ± 2.1 pg, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic analysis established a reticulocyte hemoglobin content threshold below 29.5 pg as optimal for predicting latent iron deficiency, achieving a sensitivity of 87.8% and a specificity of 84.1%. Measuring reticulocyte hemoglobin provides a real-time, cost-effective assessment of iron-restricted erythropoiesis that can be performed directly during routine pre-donation screening.
Keywords: Blood donors, reticulocyte hemoglobin content, latent iron deficiency, ferritin, blood donor selection
Manuscript Timeline: Received: September 10, 2013; Revised: October 20, 2013; Accepted: November 05, 2013; Published: December 11, 2013.