Iron Status Profile

Comprehensively analyse your iron levels and stores with iron, ferritin, transferrin saturation and iron-binding capacity.

Iron is essential for blood health and this test will tell you if you are at risk of iron deficiency, or have excess iron which can also cause serious health problems.

This test can be done on a finger-prick sample as well as a phlebotomy sample.

What can I expect from Iron Status Profile?

The Iron Status Profile measures all the essential parameters related to iron levels in the body.

Anaemia is very commonly caused by low iron as red blood cells are entirely dependent on iron to transport essential oxygen around the body.

This test will give you a clear indication of whether you are at risk of developing iron-deficiency anaemia, or if you already know you are anaemic, whether it is low iron that is causing it.

Iron deficiency anaemia can cause

• tiredness and lack of energy
• shortness of breath
• noticeable heartbeats (heart palpitations)
• paler than usual skin
• headaches

Serum iron shows how much iron you have in your blood right now, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) analyses the ability of your blood cells to attach itself to the iron in your blood. Transferrin saturation is another way of showing how well your blood is using the iron in your body. Ferritin is a protein that stores iron. If it is low then your iron stores are low. Ferritin is also functions as a very important measure of inflammation so if there is inflammation for any other reason (such as autoimmune conditions, infections or excessive alcohol) it may be very high.

If you are low in iron you can treat it is with supplements and diet changes.

If you find you are high in iron it may be a condition called haemochromatosis which needs medical follow-up.

This test can be performed on a finger-prick home sample or with a phlebotomy sample collected at any of our nationwide partners.

Description provided by London Medical Laboratory.