Prevalence of Iron Deficiency and Anemia among Eligible Blood Donors at Kenyatta National Hospital, Kenya

Aims: To determine the prevalence of iron deficiency and anemia among eligible whole blood donors attending Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study

Place and Duration of Study: Kenyatta National Hospital, Blood Transfusion Unit, between March 2021 and August 2021.

Methodology: A total of 202 prospective donors were allowed to donate whole blood based on donor recruitment creteria. Of these, 173 were males and 29 were females donors aged 18-57 years. Participants included, 119 (58.9%) first-time donors and 83 (41.1%) repeat donors. Eight mililitres (8 ml) of blood sample was drawn from each donated unit, 4ml was put into plain tube and the remaing was put into ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid tube. Serum ferritin levels were analyzed by Mini Vidas ® using enzyme linked florescent assay technique while hemoglobin levels was estimated by cell count analyzer (Humacount 5D ®). Results were summarized in medians and 95% interquartile ranges and compared using either Kruskal-Wallis test or Mann–Whitney U test as appropriate.

Results: The overall prevalence of iron deficiency (serum ferritin <15 μg/ml) was 2.48%. The prevalence of iron deficiency in female donors was 6.98% compared with 1.73% in males. The overall prevalence of anemia was 7.42% (males Hb <13.0/dl and female Hb <12.0g/dl). The median serum ferritin concentration was 128 μg/ml. The median ferritin levels among male donors (131 μg/ml) were significantly higher compared to female donors (84.65 μg/ml) (P=0.01). There was also a significant difference between donors age group and serum ferritin levels (P=0.008). The study further observed a significant positive correlation between donors’ hemoglobin concentrations and serum ferritin levels (P=0.001).

Conclusion: Iron deficiency and anemia are prevalent among eligible blood donors in Nairobi, Kenya. There is need to review hemoglobin cut-off values based on gender and to incorporate serum ferritin tests in routine donor screening protocols. Furthermore, repeat donors should be educated on iron deficiency and iron supplementation.