Iron Deficiency among Blood Donors in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria

Objectives: There is a paucity of information on the prevalence of iron deficiency among blood donors in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria. The present study was, therefore, designed to investigate the prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with iron deficiency among blood donors in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria using a combination of haemoglobin haematocrit and serum ferritin measurements. Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty consecutively recruited whole blood donors, comprising of 148 (98.7%) family replacement donors and 2 (1.3%) voluntary non-remunerated donors, 145 male (96.7%) and 5 (3.33%) female blood donors aged 18 - 60 years with mean age 39 ± 21 years constituted the subjects for this study. Subjects included farmers 55 (43.3%), 56 civil servants (37.3%) and 39 (26%) students. The full blood count was carried out using Mythic 22 CT fully automated haematology analyser (Orphee SA, Switzerland). Serum was tested for ferritin using a human ferritin enzyme immunoassay kit—ACCU DiagTM ELISA Ferritin kit (Diagnostic Automation/Cortez Diagnostic Inc. California (U.S.A). Result: Three haematological parameters (haemoglobin, packed cell volume and serum ferritin) were assessed among blood donors. The haemoglobin, packed cell volume and ferritin levels were significantly lower among regular voluntary remunerated blood donors (13.5 ± 0.00, 43.5 ± 2.0 and 34.88 ± 0.00) compared to Family replacement donors (14.10 ± .40, 45 ± 3.0 and 74.12 ± 45.20) respectively (p = 0.01, 0.01 and 0.001 respectively). The mean haemoglobin, packed cell volume and ferritin levels were compared among donors based on gender. The haemoglobin, packed cell volume and ferritin were significantly higher among male donors (14.2 ± 2.0, 44 ± 4.0 and 78.02 ± 49.10) compared to female donors (12.35 ± 2.5, 42 ± 3.0 and 42.2 ± 32.13) (p = 0.01, 0.01 and 0.001 respectively). The mean haemoglobin, packed cell volume and ferritin levels were compared among donors based on occupational groups. The haemoglobin, packed cell volume and ferritin were significantly higher among civil servants compared to farmers and students (p = 0.01). Conclusion: Iron deficiency is prevalent among blood donors in Sokoto, North Western, Nigeria. There is a need to review the screening tests for the selection of blood donors and include serum ferritin measurement in the donor screening menu as well as provide iron supplementation for regular blood donors.