Iron status in Dutch and Finnish blood donor and general populations:A cross-cohort comparison study

Background and Objectives: Blood donors are at risk of developing iron deficiency (ID) (ferritin <15 μg/L, World Health Organization definition). Blood services implement different strategies to mitigate this risk. Although in Finland risk group-based iron supplementation is in place, no iron supplementation is provided in the Netherlands. We aim to describe differences in ferritin levels and ID prevalence in donor and general populations in these countries. Materials and Methods: Six cohorts, stratified based on sex, and for women age, in the Netherlands and Finland were used to evaluate d... Mehr ...