Iron Management Among Blood Donors

AABB has long considered iron management to be an important issue in the blood donation process. In recent years, new research has expanded the current understanding of iron management in blood donors. In response to some of this new data, AABB released Association Bulletin #17-02 in 2017 to advise blood centers on ensuring optimal iron balance in blood donors, which superseded Association Bulletin #12-03, AABB’s previous guidance on iron management in blood donors, published in 2012.

In 2017, AABB convened the AABB Ad Hoc Working Group on Iron Management Among Blood Donors to conduct a comprehensive review of data regarding iron management among blood donors. The Working Group reviewed more than two dozen research studies to gather the full range of data on iron management in blood donors. The Working Group’s iron management report was published last year.

Resources:

• AABB Donor Iron Deficiency Risked-Based Decision-Making Assessment Report
• AABB Donor Iron Deficiency Risked-Based Decision-Making Assessment Report Supplemental Material
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Iron and Blood Donation For Blood Centers
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Iron and Blood Donation For Donors and Parents
• Association Bulletin #17-02 - Updated Strategies to Limit or Prevent Iron Deficiency in Blood Donors
• Association Bulletin #12-03 - Strategies to Monitor, Limit, or Prevent Iron Deficiency in Blood Donors
• Balancing Act: Striving for Optimal Iron Management in Blood Donors - AABB News, June 2018

Relevant Research:

• Cable R, Glynn S, Kiss J, et al. Iron deficiency in blood donors: the REDS-II Donor Iron Status Evaluation (RISE) study. Transfusion.2012;52:702-711
• Goldman M, Uzicanin S, Osmond L, et al. A large national study of ferritin testing in Canadian blood donors. Transfusion. 2017;57:564-570
• Kiss J, Brambilla D, Glynn S, et al. Oral iron supplementation after blood donation: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2015;313:575-583
• Kiss J, Vassallo R. How do we manage iron deficiency after blood donation? British Journal of Haematology. 2018;5:590-603
• Mast A, Bialkowski W, Bryant B, et al. A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled trial of education and iron supplementation for mitigation of iron deficiency in regular blood donors. Transfusion. 2016;56:1588-1597
• Salvin H, Pasricha S, Marks D, Speedy J. Iron deficiency in blood donors: A national cross-sectional study. Transfusion. 2014;10:2434-2444
• Spencer B, Bialkowski W, Creel D, et al. Elevated risk for iron depletion in high‐school age blood donors. Transfusion. 2019. doi:10.1111/trf.15133

Relevant Commentary

• Shaz B. Risk-based decision making: A good start to aiding US blood policy decision? Transfusion. 2018;8:1827-1830
• Sayers M. Iron supplementation? Ferritin screening? Why questions persist. Transfusion. 2019;59:1616–1619
• Gorlin J. Iron replacement: precautionary principle versus risk-based decision making. Transfusion. 2019;59:1613–1615