Blood test question

Hi Everyone:
This is Debbie again. I have another quick question.

Is the Iron Profile Blood Test the same thing as the Serum Ferritin Blood Test?

Nina has been given an Iron Profile Test (all levels are normal) and an Hemoglobin Electrothesis Test. (Her levels were all over the place).

Should I be asking for a Serum Ferritin Test? If so, how is that DIFFERENT from the Iron Profile?

Thanks!

Hi Debbie!

The Iron Profile consists of a series of Iron related tests including the Serum Ferritin test also known as simply the Ferritin test.

A typical iron profile includes measures such as the following:

• Ferritin (FERR) - This is a marker of iron stores in the body. Low ferritin levels means that the body is losing iron. FERR values between 13 and 20 ug/ml indicate borderline iron deficiency.
• Iron (FE) - Most of the body's iron is stored in the hemoglobin inside red blood cells. The amount of iron in the blood depends on the amount of dietary iron, how much is absorbed, and how much is lost. There can be wide daily fluctuations in blood FE levels.
• Total Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC) - This is an indicator of the body's ability to transport iron to and from storage areas. Very high levels may indicate storage iron deficiency. Low levels are sometimes associated with inflammatory conditions.
• Saturation (SAT) - Transferrin is the substance that actually transports iron in the blood. There is usually more transferrin than iron. The percent of saturation of this transferrin is generally 20 to 40 percent. Below 20 percent suggests poor iron transport capability. This may result from low iron stores.

Hope this helps.

Take care, Peace!

Thank you for your information. Nina's Iron Profile consists of:

IRON 88 (
UIBC 273 (I don't know what this means or what it is)
TIBC 360 (This is her ability to transport iron... right?)
Saturation 24 (THis is the amount of Transferrin in her blood to transport the iron??)

There is nothing else listed. All of her levels fit into the normal range here according to the report. I assume the IRON section correlates to the FE levels you mentioned in your message??

Thanks for helping me learn to read her report. This is something I need to learn how to do!