Protecting our life blood: iron deficiency in Canadian blood donors

What is this research about?

Ever wonder why we prick potential donors’ fingers before whole blood donation? It’s to check levels of hemoglobin, the protein in blood that transports oxygen from the lungs to the cells in the body. If a potential donor’s hemoglobin is below a certain level, they cannot give blood. Hemoglobin contains iron, and low hemoglobin levels (called anemia) is often linked with low iron levels (called iron deficiency). So, why is iron important? Iron is an essential mineral; it is necessary for our body to function well, but we must get the iron we need from our diet.

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